Design of a Bias Power Supply for GaN Switch Based Multilevel Traction Inverter
N. Agarwal (TU Delft - Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science)
G.R. Chandra Mouli – Mentor (TU Delft - DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage)
P. Bauer – Mentor (TU Delft - DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage)
M. Ghaffarian Niasar – Mentor (TU Delft - High Voltage Technology Group)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
There has been significant research into the use of multilevel inverter topologies using Wide Band Gap (WBG) semiconductors in Electric Vehicle (EV) powertrains. This combination promises increased power density and efficiency, which should boost the viability and adoption of EVs. However, a reliable power supply is required for the inverter switches, which counteracts some of the challenges presented by these topologies. These challenges include the issue of a high-side power supply and electromagnetic interference (EMI) mitigation.
To begin with, certain requirements for a high-side power supply are drawn up and various architectures are compared based on their merits and demerits. Based on this comparison, the LLC resonant converter is chosen as the most suitable topology due to its high efficiency, power density, and potential for EMI mitigation. The operating principles of this topology are examined and used to optimally design a single-output LLC converter. These principles are then further extrapolated to the design of an LLC converter with six isolated outputs, which are required for a multilevel converter.
Both designs are then prototyped and tested to verify their performance. It is found that the multi-output converter performs at par with or better than commercially available solutions, while fulfilling the design requirements.