The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics (전력전자학회논문지)

The Korean Institute of Power Electronics (전력전자학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Comparative Analysis of Pulse Width Modulation Methods for Improving the Lifetime of DC-link Capacitors of NPC Inverters

NPC 인버터의 DC-link 커패시터 수명 향상을 위한 전압 변조 방법 비교 평가

  • Choi, Jae-Heon (Dept. of IT Media Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology) ;
  • Choi, Ui-Min (Dept. of Electronic & IT Media Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology)
  • Received : 2021.01.28
  • Accepted : 2022.02.11
  • Published : 2022.08.20
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Capacitor is one of the reliability-critical components in power converters. The lifetime of the capacitor decreases as the operating temperature increases, and power losses caused by capacitor current are the main cause of the capacitor temperature increase. Therefore, various studies are being conducted to improve the lifetime of the capacitor by reducing the current of DC-link capacitors. In this study, pulse width modulation methods proposed for improving the lifetime of DC-link capacitors of the three-level NPC inverter are comparatively analyzed. The lifetime evaluation of the DC-link capacitor under different modulation methods is performed at component level first and then system level by considering all capacitors by applying Monte Carlo simulation. Furthermore, their effects on the efficiency and THD of the output current are also considered.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

이 성과는 정부(과학기술정보통신부)의 재원으로 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 기초연구사업임. (No. 2019R1F1A1057164)

References

  1. S. Yang, D. Xiang, A. Bryant, P. Mawby, L. Ran, P. Tavner, "Condition monitoring for device reliability in power electronic converters: a review," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., Vol. 25, No. 11, pp. 2734-2752, Nov. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2010.2049377
  2. S. Yang et al., "An industry-based survey of reliability in power electronics converters," IEEE Trans. Industry Applications, Vol. 47, pp. 1441-1451, May/June 2011. https://doi.org/10.1109/TIA.2011.2124436
  3. H. Wang, P. Davari, H. Wang, D. Kumar, F. Zare, F. Blaabjerg, "Lifetime estimation of DC-link capacitors in adjustable speed drives under grid voltage unbalances," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., Vol. 34, No. 5, pp. 4064-4078, May. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/tpel.2018.2863701
  4. Y. J. Kim, S. M. Kim, K. B. Lee, "Improving DC-link capacitor lifetime for three-level photovoltaic hybrid active NPC inverters in full modulation index range," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., Vol. 36, No. 5, pp. 5250-5261, May. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPEL.2020.3027670
  5. S. W. An, S. M. Kim, K. B. Lee, "Capacitor lifetime extension in a hybrid active neutral-point-clamped inverter with reduction of DC-link ripple current and common-mode voltage," IEEE Access, Vol. 9, pp. 40336-40348, Mar. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3064859
  6. Y. Yang, K. Ma, H. Wang, and F. Blaabjerg, "Instantaneous thermal modeling of the dc-link capacitor in photovoltaic systems," IEEE Appl. Power Electron. Conf. Expo., pp. 2733-2739, Mar. 2015.
  7. D. Zhou, H. Wang, and F. Blaabjerg, "Lifetime estimation of electrolytic capacitors in a fuel cell power converter at various confidence levels," IEEE Southern Power Electron. Conf., Dec. 2016.
  8. U. M. Choi., and T. Ryu., "Comparative evaluation of efficiency and reliability of single-phase five-level NPC inverters for photovoltaic systems," IEEE Access, Vol. 9, pp. 120638-120651, Aug. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3108188
  9. Haoran Wang, C. Li, G. Zhu, Y. Liu and Huai Wang, "Model-based design and optimization of hybrid DC-link capacitor banks," IEEE Trans. Power Electron., Vol. 35, No. 9, pp. 8910-8925, Sep. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/tpel.2020.2971830