Loss and Efficiency Improvement of EV Traction Drive System by Using SiC in Inverter
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Abstract
This paper investigates the effectiveness of employing SiC MOSFETs compared to Si-IGBTs in the two-level inverter for the traction motor drives in electric vehicles. The study focuses on the differences in structure and material between SiC MOSFETs and Si-IGBTs by which the conduction and switching losses can be reduced by over 40% and 60%, respectively, when a SiC MOSFET inverter is employed. This advantage enables the SiC MOSFET inverter to drive the traction motor at a higher switching frequency, surpassing traditional Si-IGBT inverters' capabilities. To assess the performance of the systems, simulations are conducted using the PLECS simulation platform. The comparison includes evaluating the traction drive system's efficiency and losses with SiC MOSFET and Si-IGBT inverters on the IPMSM traction motor torque-speed curve; the result shows that the efficiency is improved by over 1% on the entire torque-speed curve. Moreover, the paper also explores the trade-off between the switching frequency and motor harmonic core loss of the motor. This evaluation offers a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between these factors and aids in optimizing the performance of the traction motor system.
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