Simple Design Scheme for a 300 kW Modular NPC Inverter Using Thermal RC Network Analysis

Jae-Woon Lee, Ji-Won Kim (), Chee-Woo Lee (), Byoung-Gun Park and Jin-Kyu Lee
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Jae-Woon Lee: Electric Machines and Drives Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon-si 51543, Republic of Korea
Ji-Won Kim: Electric Machines and Drives Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon-si 51543, Republic of Korea
Chee-Woo Lee: School of Electrical Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Republic of Korea
Byoung-Gun Park: Electric Machines and Drives Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon-si 51543, Republic of Korea
Jin-Kyu Lee: Electric Machines and Drives Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon-si 51543, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: This paper proposes a simple design scheme for a modular NPC inverter using thermal RC network analysis. The proposed design process is an efficient and straightforward approach to designing the heatsink for a 300 kW modular neutral-point-clamped inverter. The heatsink design plays a crucial role in achieving high power density of a power converter because the weight and size of the heatsink are primarily influenced by its type. The structure and dimensions of the heatsink are mainly determined based on the generated heat by losses of the power semiconductor switches. In this paper, a thermal RC network model was established using parameters from the power switch module and was applied to the simulation of the power converter. The thermal losses of the power semiconductor switches were calculated via this process, and the heatsink was designed according to the calculated thermal losses. The proposed design scheme was analyzed and compared with the thermal fluid dynamic model. To validate the feasibility of the proposed design process, The simulation results were compared with experimental results.

Keywords: thermal model; heat sink design; neutral-point-clamped inverter; linear electrical circuit simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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