Influence of PWM methods in semiconductor losses of 15kVA three-phase SiC inverter for aircraft applications

In near future, modern aircrafts will be more electrical, having more power converters in different applications. Inverters is one of the most common applications, which are used in actuators, cabin pressurization, among others. In order to significantly reduce weight, size and losses of these converters, disruptive technology such as Wide Bandgap components (SiC and GaN transistors) should be used. In this paper, we study the influence of SiC components in a 540V/15kVA inverter for motor driving applications. The approach proposed here starts by the dynamic characterization of SiC modules with the aim of obtaining accurate switching energies in order to precisely calculate semiconductor losses in three-phase inverters. Then, precise conduction and switching loss calculation is developed to verify the influence of PWM methods on losses of this converter. A generic 15kVA inverter setup is built. Experimental results in this setup confirm the characterization and loss calculation and shows the best PWM methods for specific aircraft applications.