Xiaojie Shi

A di/dt Feedback-Based Active Gate Driver for Smart Switching and Fast Overcurrent Protection of IGBT Modules

This paper presents an active gate driver (AGD) for IGBT modules to improve their overall performance under normal condition as well as fault condition. Specifically, during normal switching transients, a di/dt feedback controlled current source and current sink is introduced together with a push-pull buffer for dynamic gate current control. Compared to a conventional gate drive strategy, the proposed one has the capability of reducing the switching loss, delay time, and Miller plateau duration during turn-on and turn-off transient without sacrificing current and voltage stress. Under overcurrent condition, it provides a fast protection function for IGBT modules based on the evaluation of fault current level through the di/dt feedback signal. Moreover, the AGD features flexible protection modes, which overcomes the interruption of converter operation in the event of momentary short circuits. A step-down converter is built to evaluate the performance of the proposed driving schemes under various conditions, considering variation of turn-on/off gate resistance, current levels, and short-circuit fault types. Experimental results and detailed analysis are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Characteristic investigation and control of a modular multilevel converter-based HVDC system under single-line-to-ground fault conditions

This paper presents the analysis and control of a multilevel modular converter (MMC)-based HVDC transmission system under three possible single-line-to-ground fault conditions, with special focus on the investigation of their different fault characteristics. Considering positive-, negative-, and zero-sequence components in both arm voltages and currents, the generalized instantaneous power of a phase unit is derived theoretically according to the equivalent circuit model of the MMC under unbalanced conditions. Based on this model, a novel double-line frequency dc-voltage ripple suppression control is proposed. This controller, together with the negative- and zero-sequence current control, could enhance the overall fault-tolerant capability of the HVDC system without additional cost. To further improve the fault-tolerant capability, the operation performance of the HVDC system with and without single-phase switching is discussed and compared in detail. Simulation results from a three-phase MMC-HVDC system generated with MATLAB/Simulink are provided to support the theoretical analysis and proposed control schemes.

Temperature-Dependent Short-Circuit Capability of Silicon Carbide Power MOSFETs

This paper presents a comprehensive short-circuit ruggedness evaluation and numerical investigation of up-to-date commercial silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs. The short-circuit capability of three types of commercial 1200-V SiC MOSFETs is tested under various conditions, with case temperatures from 25 to 200 °C and dc bus voltages from 400 to 750 V. It is found that the commercial SiC MOSFETs can withstand short-circuit current for only several microseconds with a dc bus voltage of 750 V and case temperature of 200 °C. The experimental short-circuit behaviors are compared, and analyzed through numerical thermal dynamic simulation. Specifically, an electrothermal model is built to estimate the device internal temperature distribution, considering the temperature-dependent thermal properties of SiC material. Based on the temperature information, a leakage current model is derived to calculate the main leakage current components (i.e., thermal, diffusion, and avalanche generation currents). Numerical results show that the short-circuit failure mechanisms of SiC MOSFETs can be thermal generation current induced thermal runaway or high-temperature-related gate oxide damage.

A High Temperature Silicon Carbide mosfet Power Module With Integrated Silicon-On-Insulator-Based Gate Drive

This paper presents a board-level integrated silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET power module for high temperature and high power density applications. Specifically, a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based gate driver capable of operating at 200°C ambient temperature is designed and fabricated. The sourcing and sinking current capability of the gate driver are tested under various ambient temperatures. Also, a 1200 V/100 A SiC MOSFET phase-leg power module is developed utilizing high temperature packaging technologies. The static characteristics, switching performance, and short-circuit behavior of the fabricated power module are fully evaluated at different temperatures. Moreover, a buck converter prototype composed of the SOI gate driver and SiC power module is built for high temperature continuous operation. The converter is operated at different switching frequencies up to 100 kHz, with its junction temperature monitored by a thermo-sensitive electrical parameter (TSEP) and compared with thermal simulation results. The experimental results from the continuous operation demonstrate the high temperature capability of the power module at a junction temperature greater than 225°C.

Regenerative power converters representation of grid control and actuation emulator

An ultra-wide-area transmission network emulator represented by regenerative converters is developed in this paper. The converters are paralleled to provide and share power similar to electromechanical generators. Others are controlled to emulate loads, such as, induction motors and constant impedance, current, power (ZIP) loads. The structure and control algorithms of these power system component emulators are discussed in detail, and the performance of overall system architecture is presented. As is well-known, the induction motor will induce large power perturbation when it starts. The simulation results clearly show the dynamic response and starting up process of the load.

A comparison of phase disposition and phase shift PWM strategies for modular multilevel converters

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has proved to be an effective solution for high power applications, supplying low distorted output voltage and high fault tolerance. This paper presents a detailed performance comparison between phase disposition PWM (PDPWM) and phase shift PWM (PSPWM) schemes under normal condition, over-modulation, as well as carrier non-synchronization condition. Compared to the PSPWM strategy, the PDPWM has smaller line-to-line voltage distortion under normal condition, when the carrier frequencies are adjusted to achieve the same number of switch transitions over one fundamental cycle. In addition, the capacitor voltages are able to keep balanced without additional controllers. Under over-modulation condition, PDPWM can still achieve smaller voltage distortion without capacitor voltage deviation, while obvious voltage differences are observed with PSPWM, which shows an opposite trend toward that of normal condition. Moreover, asynchronous carriers have different impacts on the harmonic cancellation, which needs to be carefully considered in a hardware implementation. Simulation results for a three-phase nine-level inverter system generated with the Matlab/Simulink software are provided to support the theoretical considerations.

Switching performance improvement of IGBT modules using an active gate driver

This paper addresses the issues of switching behavior of a high power insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) that works in hard switching conditions. First, the voltage and current switching waveforms of IGBT modules are described for an IGBT phase-leg module with an inductive load, and the associated switching losses, reverse recovery current of free-wheeling diodes, voltage overshoot, and EMI noise are analyzed. Based on the analysis, an actively controlled gate drive circuit is proposed, which provides optimization of the fast driving for low switching losses and short switching time, and slow driving for low noise and switching stress. Compared to a conventional gate drive strategy, the proposed active gate driver (AGD) has the capability of reducing the switching losses, delay time, and Miller plateau duration effectively during both turn-on and turn-off transient. Experimental results verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed gate driving method.

Modeling, Control Design, and Analysis of a Startup Scheme for Modular Multilevel Converters

Featuring modularity and high efficiency, a modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become a promising topology in high-voltage direct-current transmission systems. However, its distributed capacitors lead to a more complicated startup process than that of a two-level converter. To fully understand this issue, the charging loops of an MMC rectifier and an MMC inverter during an uncontrolled precharge period are analyzed in this paper, with special focus on the necessity of additional capacitor charging schemes. Moreover, a small-signal model of a capacitor charging loop is first derived according to the internal dynamics of the MMC inverter. Based on this model, a novel startup strategy incorporating an averaging capacitor voltage loop and a feedforward control is proposed, which is capable of an enhanced dynamic response and system stability without sacrificing voltage control precision. The design considerations of the control strategy are also given in detail. Simulation results from a back-to-back MMC system supplying passive loads and experimental results from a scaled-down MMC prototype are provided to support the theoretical analysis and the proposed control scheme.

A fast overcurrent protection scheme for IGBT modules through dynamic fault current evaluation

This paper presents a new active overcurrent protection scheme for IGBT modules based on the evaluation of fault current level by measuring the induced voltage across the stray inductance between the Kelvin emitter and power emitter of IGBT modules. Compared with the commonly used desaturation protection, it provides a fast and reliable detection of fault current without any blanking time. Once a short circuit is detected, a current limiting and clamping function is activated to dynamically suppress the transient peak current, thus reducing the considerable energetic and thermal stresses induced upon the power device. Subsequently, a soft turn-off mechanism is employed aiming to reduce surge voltages induced by stray inductance under high current falling rate. Moreover, the proposed method provides flexible protection modes, which overcome the interruption of converter operation in the event of momentary short circuits. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach have been validated by simulation results with real component models in Saber. A Double Pulse Tester (DPT) based experimental test setup further verifies the proposed protection scheme.

DC impedance modelling of a MMC-HVDC system for DC voltage ripple prediction under a single-line-to-ground fault

This paper investigates the prediction of the second order dc voltage ripple in a modular multilevel converter (MMC) based point-to-point high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) system when the rectifier station suffers a single-line-to-ground (SLG) fault. Under this unbalanced condition, the second order dc voltage ripple will transfer to the healthy inverter station and can lead to a potential output voltage distortion. To accurately predict the dc voltage ripple distribution, the equivalent dc side impedances of the MMC inverter station with and without circulating current control are derived separately. It is shown that the MMC inverter station can be regarded as a series connected R-L-C branch in both cases, and the branch values are independent of the adopted current and power control schemes. In addition, long cables with small capacitance and large inductance help to mitigate the voltage ripple in the inverter station. The circulating current control, acting as an active resistance, effectively damps the possible resonance around 120 Hz between the dc cable and the MMC inverter. However, due to the higher equivalent dc impedance, the amplitude of the 2nd order dc voltage ripple in the inverter station is increased. Simulation results from a MMC based HVDC system, and experimental results from a three-phase MMC inverter are provided to support the theoretical analysis.