A Design Optimization Tool for Maximizing the Power Density of 3-Phase DC-AC Converters Using Silicon Carbide (SiC) Devices

作者：Laird Ian; Yuan Xibo^*; Scoltock James; Forsyth Andrew J

来源：IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 2018, 33(4): 2913-2932.

DOI：10.1109/TPEL.2017.2705805

• DC-AC converters
• design optimization
• power density
• silicon carbide (SiC)
• switching frequency

The emergence of wide-bandgap devices, e.g., silicon carbide (SiC), has the potential to enable very high-density power converter design with high-switching frequency operation capability. A comprehensive design tool with a holistic design approach is critical to maximize the overall system power density, e.g, by identifying the optimal switching frequency. This paper presents a system level design tool that optimizes the power density (volume or mass) of a three-phase, two-level dc-ac converter. The design tool optimizes the selection of the devices, heatsink and passive components (including the design of the line, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and dc-link filters) to maximize the power density. The structure of the optimization algorithm has been organized to reduce the number of potential design combinations by over 99%, and thus, produces fast simulation times. The design tool predicts that when SiC devices are used instead of Si ones, the power density is increased by 159.4%. A 5 kW, 600-V dc-link, three-phase, two-level dc-ac converter was experimentally evaluated in order to confirm the accuracy of the design tool.

• 出版日期2018-4