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2024 (English)In: Proceedings 9th IEEE Southern Power Electronics Conference, SPEC 2024, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , 2024Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
This paper evaluates traction inverters for heavy-duty electric vehicles, focusing on key criteria such as raised power ratings with improved efficiency and power densities. Boosted voltage and current levels are required to achieve higher power levels and provide megawatt charging system solutions, which results in the need to utilize new semiconductors and topologies. In this study, 3-Level neutral point clamped (3L- NPC) and 2-Level 6-phase (2L-6Ph) voltage source inverters (VSIs) are evaluated and compared to conventional 2-Level 3-phase (2L-3Ph). The comparison uses figure-of-merit parameters and a virtual prototyping method based on several performance indices, such as efficiency, power density, output harmonic quality, and reliability. Then, efficiency maps are acquired to find out the sweet operating points, minimizing losses. Results show that the 3L-NPC VSI system provides a higher switching frequency, which also shrinks the size of the passive elements and cooling system. Although the 3L-NPC inverter requires additional power switches and isolated gate drivers, its estimated performance outweighs such reliability and cost-dependent issues. Therefore, this study concludes that multi-level inverter topologies hold promise for high-voltage, high-power traction drives.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024
Keywords
3 level neutral point clamped inverter, conduction losses, switching losses, traction inverter
National Category
Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering Vehicle and Aerospace Engineering Energy Systems
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-362228 (URN)10.1109/SPEC62217.2024.10893180 (DOI)001445813800061 ()2-s2.0-105001111098 (Scopus ID)
Conference
9th IEEE Southern Power Electronics Conference, SPEC 2024, Brisbane, Australia, Dec 2 2024 - Dec 5 2024
Note
Part of ISBN 9798350351156
QC 20250415
2025-04-092025-04-092025-06-12Bibliographically approved