Integrated Design Approach for Medium Power Inverters Optimized for EMC and Thermal Performance

Abstract

Today’s stale of the an power electronics system require the design engineers ro employ an integrated approach, utilizing IGDTs. heat sink, capacitors and gate driver circuits at their peak performance. While functionality is of course alw ays important, the problem of manufacturahility, cost and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) are elements that have to he kept into account.

In this paper the authors show how electromagnetic interference caused by power electronic circuits can be reduced by the minimization of the total inductance commutation loop of an inverter leg. At the same time special attention is due to the compactness of the inverter especially as regard to the heat sink and the thermal issues. The goal is a proper design and construction of the inverter so tackling EMI directly at the source where most EMI is generated. In this way application of expensive EMI filters can be avoided. Moreover the analysis of the thermal behavior is shown. In order to reach this goal a proper selection and design of the inverter parts have been made and implemented. Specifically, a prototype of converter has been developed to reach the maximum reduction of the stray inductance commutation loop and the maximum compactness using the actual available technology. Experimental results are given to show the validity of this approach.

Key Words:

• Power convener design
• electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marco Chiadò Caponet

Marco Chiadò Caponet (IEEE-M’02) was born in Cirie (Turin). Italy, in 1970. He received the M. Sc. Degree in Electronic Engineering and the Ph. D. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino. Italy, in 1995 and 2000. respectively. From 1996 to 1997. he worked as a Project Engineer for Prima Industrie Group, where he was engaged in the design of power converters for brushless drives and robotic applications. He then joined the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Politecnico di Torino, where he was Ph. D. student, concentrating on EMC in power electronics and power inverter design. He was Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives of the Aachen University of Technology (ISEA-RWTH), Aachen, Germany, in the years 1998–1999. doing research on the optimization of the inverter design for good EMC performance His fields of interest are inverter design optimized for EMC and thermal performance. power converter-for electric vehicles, high efficiency resonant converters for industrial applications, power electronics and EMC. He published 16 papers in International Conferences and Technical Journals. Dr. Chiadò Caponet has been partner of several Projects in the frame of the European Commission activities (Tempus, Leonardo da Vinci). He also taught many courses on electronics, electrical drives, power electronics, circuit simulations. F.MC/EMI for the University, industries and the High School. He is currently a Post-Doctorate in the power electronics and EMC research group of the Politecnico di Torino (www.polito.it/research/eeeee) and a scientific consultant for industries. Dr. Chiadò Caponet is a Qualified Professional Engineer in Italy and “Member” of IEEE. E-mail: [email protected]

Francesco Profumo

Francesco Profumo (IEEE-M 88. IEEE-SM’90) was born in Savona, Italy, in 1953. He graduated in Electrical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino. Italy, in 1977. Since 1978 to 1984, he worked as Senior Engineering the R&D Ansaldo Group in Genova (Italy). In 1984 he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering of the Politecnico di Torino, where he was Associate Professor till 1995. He is now Professor of Electrical Machines and Drives at Politecnico di Torino and Adjunct Professor at University of Bologna. He was Visiting Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) in the years 1986–88 and at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of Nagasaki University (Japan) (years 1996–97, for one semester). His fields of interest are power electronics conversion, high power devices. applications of new power devices, integrated electronic/electromechanical design, high response speed serves drives, new electrical machines structures. He published more than 200 papers in International Conferences and Technical Journals. Dr. Profumo is an active member of the IEEE-IAS Drives Committee and serves as Vice-Chairman of the same Committee since 2001. He is also member of the EPE Executive Council. He is member of the Technical Program Committee of several International Conferences in the Power Electronics and Motor Drives field. Dr. Profumo won the IEEE-IAS second prize paper in 1991 and in 1997 and Lhe IEEE-IAS first prize paper in 1992. Dr. Profumo has been the Coordinator or partner of several projects in the frame of the European Commission activities (Tempus, Comett. Joule. Human Capital and Mobility. Alfa. European Union S&T Grant Programme in Japan. Leonardo da Vinci). He is a Registered Professional Engineer in Italy. E-mail: [email protected]