Comprehensive design optimization of a wind power converter using SiC technology

Hussein, Abdallah; Castellazzi, Alberto

Abstract

This paper proposes the joint electro-magnetic and electro-thermal design optimization of a three-phase two-level voltage-source inverter, referring to the specific operational conditions of wind power conversion applications. The reference power level is 12 kW and the devices have a nominal voltage rating of 1.2 kV, typical values of small-scale wind turbines. Novel silicon carbide (SiC) devices are used to enable higher switching frequencies and operational temperatures, yielding in turn higher power density, without penalty on efficiency. Specifically, with relevance to commercial products, the paper focuses on the salient features of SiC and discusses their impact on system performance, elaborating on the associated bespoke design needs to yield optimum results in terms of inverter performance and power density, both volumetric and gravimetric. The study is of relevance primarily to on-ground systems, but also includes novel insight and results of straightforward spin-off transfer to a number of transport applications, including upcoming hybrid and fully electric naval and avionic applications.

Citation

Hussein, A., & Castellazzi, A. (2018, December). Comprehensive design optimization of a wind power converter using SiC technology. Presented at 6th IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid, icSmartGrids 2018, Nagasaki, Japan

• Presentation Conference Type: Edited Proceedings
• Conference Name: 6th IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid, icSmartGrids 2018
• Start Date: Dec 4, 2018
• End Date: Dec 6, 2018
• Acceptance Date: Nov 1, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Feb 7, 2019
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Deposit Date: Apr 30, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: May 15, 2019
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Book Title: 2018 International Conference on Smart Grid (icSmartGrid)
• ISBN: 9781538684849
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ISGWCP.2018.8634431
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1889169
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8634431
• Additional Information: © 2019 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
• Contract Date: Apr 30, 2019