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Fault Modeling and Reliability Impact Analysis of Modular Design in Medium Voltage Converters | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Fault Modeling and Reliability Impact Analysis of Modular Design in Medium Voltage Converters


Abstract:

Modular design is largely applied to Medium Voltage Converters aiming to provide an easy way to replace a set of damaged devices after failure events, allowing a fast res...Show More

Abstract:

Modular design is largely applied to Medium Voltage Converters aiming to provide an easy way to replace a set of damaged devices after failure events, allowing a fast restorage of the operation. Arranging the semiconductors into converter phase modules for instance, allow the system to be taken out of operation only for the defective phase module replacement, which can be send to the supplier for repair. However, the indication of the failed semiconductors inside the phase module is usually only given by the gate driver and simple in-circuit tests performed with the aid of a multimeter during the downtime. In this paper, it is demonstrated that a failure occurring in one flatpack IGBT power semiconductor of any phase can cause escalated consequences and basic tests might not be enough to spot degraded devices in other phase modules. This is performed by the modeling, reproduction, and analysis of two consecutive faults in a real case application of a three-level medium voltage converter. Furthermore, additional post-fault offline tests are performed in flatpack IGBT samples that apparently survived the real case fault. The results reveal a relevant parameter shift that support questioning the benefits of the modular design. The deteriorated power devices might not fail immediately, but they will have a shorter lifetime expectancy impacting the overall reliability leading to a subsequent fault of likely greater consequences.
Date of Conference: 29 October 2023 - 02 November 2023
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 01 February 2024
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Conference Location: Nashville, TN, USA

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