Innovative Power Electronics and Modulation Technologies for Electric, More Electric, and Hybrid Electric Transportation

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The proposal focuses on developing a research program on transportation electrification. Major thrusts include enabling technologies for more electric aircraft (MEA) and marine electrification. Secondary thrusts are ground vehicles and vehicle-to-grid interface. This research program will develop test-benches, control platforms, software-hardware interfaces and create simulation and testing facilities for electric, hybrid and more electric transportation. The proposal focuses on design and development of innovative power electronics topologies and novel modulation techniques for electric transportation. Adoption of wide bandgap semiconductor materials like Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Gallium Nitride (GaN) and DirectFET based devices and high flux magnetic materials (nanocrystalline) and reduction in electrolytic, thermal, and filters volume are the major additions to the new design and development. The proposal is looking to investigate on power electronics circuits with reduced electrolytic capacitors. In MEA, light weight, high-density, low harmonics and EMC requirements, fault tolerance, and reliability are the major attributes. Existing conventional power electronics developed for industrial applications are not optimized for aircraft applications to meet harmonic requirements in airborne electrical system environmental standards. Therefore, the new power electronics become an essential technology supporting variable frequency electrical power system of MEA. Novel power factor correction topology with switching sequence and matrix converters will be researched. Integrated power system of electric ship is looking to adopt medium voltage (MV) DC architecture. This research program aims at developing MV modular multilevel converters and optimal low frequency modulation (50-200 Hz) techniques for marine propulsion system to reduce switching loses while not compromising on THD. It improves power handling capacity of devices and reduces thermal and cooling requirements. Transformerless architecture and matrix converter to reduce the complexity, cost, and improve density will be investigated. For ground vehicles, proposed research program will strategize to implement soft-switching modulation techniques at very high switching frequency, up to 500 kHz, to limit the cost of magnetics, and filters. Dedicated electrolytic capacitorless fault tolerant power electronics topologies with reduced magnetics and new devices (Sic, GaN, DirectFET)will be designed and developed to realize low cost, highly efficient and light weight propulsion system. Bidirectional V2G capability with communication and control layer will be developed for EVs to participate in future smart grid or power system distribution network to shave the peak demand to avail the mobile distributed energy storage (EV batteries) while parked and stationary.