Recent advances in power electronics technology for industrial and traction machine drives

Energy Internet (EI) is the energy network based on the power system and information architecture. With the access of the renewable energy power generation equipment, energy storage device and various types of power load to power grid, the traditional power system equipment can't meet the diversity of power supply, energy multi-directional flow, active management of power flow and other requirements. How to use the advanced power electronics technology has become the core of the effective control to EI. The state of art of EI at home and abroad is introduced firstly, and the concepts and research progress of EI in different countries are compared in this paper. Then the application status of power electronic technology in EI is introduced. The working principle and function of three important power electronic devices are mainly introduced, which consists of solid state transformer (SST), energy router, and energy switch. Finally, the future development trend of power electronic technology is pointed out based on the analysis of the existing research results at home and abroad.

This paper focuses on the adaptation of residential home appliances to recent advances in power electronics technology and to a DC supply of power. This is motivated by the DC nature of most home appliances, and also the DC output of many renewable technologies. With the advances in power electronics technologies, the monthly power consumption of a residence can be greatly reduced, and as a result, system costs associated with the acquisition of a renewable system can be reduced by increasing the efficiency of each individual appliance through the use of a DC supply. Furthermore, completely operating a residence from renewable sources increases the reduction of CO2 emissions from the residential sectors.

Investigation of multilevel multifunctional grid connected inverter topologies and control strategies used in photovoltaic systems

Thin films, ranging in thickness from a few nanometers to several micrometers, play a key role in the development of high-voltage and power electronics technologies. Using precise deposition techniques, these ultra-thin layers provide essential properties such as insulation, thermal management, and improved electrical performance. Using thin films, device miniaturization and performance have been significantly improved, allowing them to be integrated into advanced applications such as capacitors, resistors, and transistors. Their role is particularly evident in wide-bandgap semiconductor devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), which have excellent switching speed, breakdown voltage, and thermal performance. This chapter highlights the importance of advanced deposition methods, including atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which ensure precise control of film thickness and structure. These technologies produce application-specific, defect-free layers, which are critical for maintaining the reliability and performance of high-voltage systems. Additionally, a variety of materials used in the films, such as high-k dielectrics and nanocomposites, facilitate the development of high capacitance density capacitors and high-performance resistors. Their use in real-world scenarios such as electric vehicles and renewable energy systems has advanced power electronics technology, improving energy conversion, thermal stability, and overall efficiency. Going forward, the integration of new materials and emerging technologies is expected to further enhance the performance of the films. Research into two-dimensional materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, as well as nanostructured films embedded with quantum dots and nanowires, offers the potential for next-generation energy storage and conversion devices. Furthermore, flexible and stretchable films open the way to wearable electronics and medical devices. By solving challenges such as thermal management and scalability, thin films have the potential to revolutionize power electronics, driving innovation in applications ranging from smart grids to advanced aerospace systems.

Switching inverter technology for converting DC to AC using Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) has been implemented in the propulsion system of the Jakarta Metro. However, with advancements in power electronics, a newer technology—Silicon Carbide (SiC)—has emerged, offering the potential to reduce switching power losses by up to 30%. The effectiveness of this technology can be evaluated through simulations using MATLAB Simulink, enabling an assessment of its potential application in the Jakarta Metro system. By quantifying this efficiency gain, informed strategic decisions can be made regarding the adoption of SiC technology for DC to AC conversion, whether through the replacement of existing IGBT-based inverters or during the procurement of rolling stock for future phases. The evaluation will be conducted by simulating both existing IGBT parameters and proposed SiC device parameters under current traction motor operating conditions. This simulation aims to determine the output power required to drive the traction motor while maintaining alignment with the current train configuration. A comparative analysis of efficiency between the two technologies will form the basis of this thesis, providing insights into the feasibility and benefits of transitioning to SiC-based inverters for the Jakarta Metro.

This paper reviews the modern electric propulsion architectures and configurations for railway traction, which are currently in practice. The development and advancement of power electronics and digital controllers led to the standardization of the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)-based converter fed induction motor drives. This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art technology of IGBT-based rolling stock in terms of both power and control. Control hierarchy of traction system and drive control techniques are explored. Special emphasis has been put on the technologies, which can improve energy efficiency as well as reliability to develop high-speed rails and metro trains in the near future in both urban and suburban areas. Specific attention is given to power electronic transformer technology-based traction drives and on-board energy storage systems. In addition, advances in traction drive technology and wide-bandgap power devices are addressed. Finally, major issues faced in rolling stock including the challenges for further improvement are highlighted.

The advancements in power electronics technology has made the usage of wind energy conversion technology (WECT) dominant in electrical power generation compare to other technologies. In this paper, modeling, and analysis is made for latest power electronic converter topologies and Induction generator topologies (IG) used in WECT. The mathematical models are built in MATLAB environment. The dominantly used IG i.e., self excited induction generator (SEIG) and Doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG), Wind modeling, Turbine Modeling, Gear shaft modeling are discussed in detail. This paper concludes by evolving new methods for stabilization of wind farms with new power converter topologies from the obtained results.

The advancements in power electronics technology have resulted in the excessive emerging of various DC appliances. This necessitates investigating the feasibility of adopting a complete DC house that combines all such DC appliances in one simple network in order to build a more efficient and energy-saving houses for modern and smart cities. An essential point of view is to compare such DC network with a corresponding conventional AC network as well as hybrid networks in terms of energy consumption and cost analysis. This paper discusses the design, analysis and comparison of different low voltage AC and DC networks. The analysis is presented for a standalone house, in which several distribution schemes are proposed and analyzed. The proposed layouts present preliminary supplying AC appliances by an AC source. On the other hand, another configuration discusses designing a complete DC network consisting of DC sources and loads. In addition, hybrid systems are also proposed in which combinations of different AC and DC sources and loads are incorporated into the same network. The proposed configurations are studied and evaluated in terms of several points of view including energy consumption, systems sizing, required components and capital costs assessment. Different test scenarios are carried out for all proposed architectures and all findings and conclusions are analyzed extensively in this paper.

Advances in power electronic technology and motor design may allow for the replacement of hydraulic actuators with electromechanical actuators (EMAs). This paper presents the model developed to incorporate force feedback control in an electromechanical actuator experiencing large magnitude transient forces that are colinear with the position command axis. A small signal analysis has been done using the unit step response of either a position command or a disturbance force input. The results of this analysis indicate that a nonlinear system model, including saturation, will be required to adequately simulate the system during a realistic transient load profile. Experimental data has been used to characterize the transient force and validate portions of the system model. The response of a non-linear model to the experimentally determined transient forces are be considered. Plans for future work are also presented.

Permanent magnet brushless DC (PM BLDC) motor drives outperform the induction motor drives in terms of performance and improved efficiency. Recent advancements in power electronics technology have improved the application of BLDC drives in a variety of home applications. However, the BLDC motor drives suffer from torque ripple, which causes machine vibration, speed oscillations, and acoustic noise, limiting the application range. In this prelude, an optimization tuning algorithm, namely Modified Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm (MAOA) is suggested in this paper for torque ripple minimization in a sensorless BLDC drive. In this paper, the cuk converter topology with PAM scheme is proposed for the sensorless BLDC drive, and MAOA algorithm is used to improve the gain of the controller. A MATLAB Simulink model is used to validate the results of MAOA tuned BLDC drive.

In little more than ten years, electricity power quality has grown from obscurity to a major issue. Power conditioning equipment is becoming more important for electric utilities and their customers. Particularly, the increasing population of power electronics-based loads is creating a growing concern for harmonic distortion in the AC supply system. In the USA, the utilities are quickly adopting the philosophy and limits proposed in the IEEE 519-1992. Recent advances in power electronics technology are now providing an unprecedented capability for conditioning and compensating harmonic distortion generated by the nonlinear loads. After a review of the existing active conditioning technologies, the paper evaluates the second generation of three-phase active harmonic conditioners developed by MGE UPS Systems, Schneider Electric. Its principle is based on the current injection, at the connection point, of the exact reflexion of harmonic current consumed by the load. The conditioner architecture is described, as well as the new innovative features. (12 pages)

Power electronic converter (Power Electronic Transformer, PET) is widely used in power systems, so the research on PET electromagnetic disturbance (Electro Magnetic Interference, EMI) cannot be ignored. PET consists of many insulated gate bipolar transistors (Insulate-Gate Bipolar Transistor, IGBT). A large number of converter levels will cause problems such as small simulation steps and long simulation times. To solve the above problems, firstly, the IGBT and its anti-parallel diodes are modeled by an 8-node model to reduce the complexity of the system; secondly, after dividing the model into fine-grained models, CUDAC coding is used to realize the parallel operation of the system on the graphics processing unit (Graphics Processing Units, GPU). Finally, the feasibility of the proposed method is compared with the PSCAD simulation results.

Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are the key component in power electronics, and the intricate relationship between their performance and structural parameters poses a formidable challenge in the design process. This article proposes an automatic optimal design method for IGBT structural parameters to leverage the pretrained machine learning (ML) model to efficiently predict the initial IGBT device’s performance, followed by utilizing the differential evolution (DE) algorithm to automatically adjust structural parameters based on the disparity between predicted and expected device performance until the expected performance is achieved. The method is validated in the design of punch-through IGBTs (PT-IGBTs) and trench gate field-stop IGBTs (FS-IGBTs), and the performance of technology computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation of the designed device is similar to the target performance. In particular, the simulation results of the designed FS-IGBT are highly fitted to the datasheet of the commercial device, which verifies the generalizability and effectiveness of the method. In addition, comparative analyses with various algorithms show DE provides the fastest optimization and extraordinary robustness under the exact specifications. Crucially, the proposed design scheme aligns with semiconductor physics. The method simplifies IGBT design without the need for manual tuning and TCAD tool simulation.

This paper describes a programme of tyre tests using a purpose built tyre test rig designed specifically to investigate the behaviour of tyres that are used with Road-Rail Vehicles (RRVs). These vehicles are used extensively by the rail industry to support the maintenance of existing rail lines and new construction works. In many cases, using a vehicle that can only operate on the road, or a rail engine that can only operate on tracks will not provide a suitable or effective solution for the task in hand. RRVs are able to operate on both roads and rail, and as such provide a very flexible solution to the rail industry. When operating on the road, RRVs use pneumatic tyres to control their motion and act to all intent and purpose as a normal road vehicle. When operating on rail lines RRVs use a combination of the pneumatic tyres and standard steel rail wheels to control their motion. The rail wheels maintain the directional stability on the track and the pneumatic tyres provide the tractive force to drive and brake the vehicle. Unlike standard road or rail vehicles, there is to date no predictive engineering practice that allows the use of computer simulation to design and optimise the performance of RRVs when they are operating on rails. Computer tools, such as multi-body systems (MBS) analysis are used extensively to design both road and rail vehicles. For road vehicles a tyre model is needed to represent the behaviour in the contact patch between the tyre and the road. For rail vehicles a model is needed to represent the contact force between the train wheel and the track. In both these applications the behaviour is well understood and over the last half century mathematical models have been developed that allow accurate and useful simulation to support the design of new vehicles and trains. In contrast, RRVs have evolved essentially as modifications to standard road vehicles. While the base vehicle may be very well designed to perform on the road, the performance on rail is based on experience and some testing. There is no up-front science involved in designing a RRV to perform effectively during this very important phase of its operation. In order to develop an accurate model to predict RRV performance on rails it is clear that a model of the behaviour of the tyre when in contact with the rail is needed. To date, no such model exists and additionally the testing needed to generate data that could be used to develop a model has never been carried out. The work described here addresses this with the design and build of a unique test rig that can be used to test tyres on rails for a range of operating conditions, and produce a set of initial results that provide a framework for a future tyre/rail model. The paper concludes with a review of the behaviour measured and provides new insights into how well tyres perform on rails and also where the behaviour differs from the well understood behaviour of tyres operating on roads. The important behaviours that would provide the main parameters for a new empirical tyre model are also identified and discussed.

Power semiconductor devices have been widely used in the fields of daily consumer goods, industrial manufacturing and transportation. Power semiconductor devices can generally be divided into two categories: controllable power semiconductors and uncontrollable power semiconductors. The first category mainly includes bipolar transistors, power MOSFET and IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistors). The second category includes various types of power diodes. IGBT is widely used in various fields because of its advantages such as high input impedance, fast switching speed and low on-state voltage drop. However, because IGBT operation has a very high voltage and current change rate in the process of turning on and off, the electromagnetic compatibility problem caused by the module becomes more and more prominent. In this paper, the finite element simulation is used to analyze the internal structure damage caused by the repeated action of thermal stress on IGBT module, so as to study the quality and reliability of IGBT module more intuitively. IGBT device failures include total or partial functional failures (failures that occur upon commencement of operation can be excluded from failures). In addition, according to the IGBT module bonding line state (whether all failure), determination of failure boundary, so as to better show the electromagnetic interference characteristics of IGBT module failure state. Based on the basic mechanism of IGBT accelerated aging failure, finite element modeling of IGBT is carried out with Ansys software, and the simulation results are analyzed to obtain the electromagnetic interference characteristics of IGBT module during the opening and closing process.