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Lifetime prediction for power converters
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Huang, Hui, (Researcher in engineering) (2012) Lifetime prediction for power converters. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
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WRAP_THESIS_Huang_2012.pdf - Submitted Version Download (8Mb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b2623837~S1
Abstract
Renewable energy is developing rapidly and gaining more and more commercial
viability. High reliability of the generation system is essential to maximize the
output power. The power inverter is an important unit in this system and is
believed to be one of the most unreliable parts. In the case of wind power
generation, especially in off-shore wind, when the system reliability requirement
is high, a technique to predict the inverter lifetime is invaluable as it would help
the inverter designer optimize his design for minimal maintenance.
Previous researchers studying inverter lifetime prediction, focus either at device
level such as device fatigue damage models, or at system level which require
experimental data for their selected device. This work presents a new method
to estimate the inverter lifetime from a given mission profile within a reasonable
simulation time. Such model can be used as a converter design tool or an on-line
lifetime estimation tool after being configured to a real converter system.
The key contribution of this work is to link the physics of the power devices to a
large scale system simulation within a reasonable framework of time. With this
technique, the system down time can be reduced and therefore more power can
be generated. Also, the failure damage to the system is avoided which reduces
the maintenance cost. A power cycling test is designed to gather the lifetime
data of a selected IGBT module. Die-attach solder fatigue is found out to be the
dominant failure mode of this IGBT module. The accuracy of widely accepted
Miner’s rule, which accumulates damage linearly, is discussed and a nonlinear
accumulation method is promoted to predict the lifetime of power inverters.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Electric current converters -- Reliability, Power electronics | ||||
Official Date: | July 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | School of Engineering | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Mawby, P. A. (Philip A.) | ||||
Sponsors: | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) | ||||
Extent: | xxiii, 223 leaves : illustrations. | ||||
Language: | eng |
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