Comparative Reliability Assessment of Hybrid Si/SiC and Conventional Si Power Module Based PV Inverter Considering Mission Profile of India and Denmark Locations

Abstract

Energy harnessing from renewable energy sources has become more flexible with power electronic technologies. Recent advancements in power electronic technologies achieve converter efficiency higher than 98%. Today, reliable power electronic devices are needed to design a PV-based energy converter (inverter) to reduce the risk of failure and maintenance costs during operation. Wide-bandgap SiC devices are becoming more common in power electronic converters. These devices are designed to reduce switching loss and improve the efficiency of the system. Nevertheless, the cost of SiC devices is a major concern. Hence, to improve the reliability of the PV inverter while considering the economic aspects, this paper develops a highly reliable PV inverter with a hybrid Si/SiC power module that consists of a Si-IGBT with a SiC anti-parallel diode. A test case of a 3 kW PV inverter is considered for reliability analysis. The loading of the PV inverter is done under uncertain environmental conditions by considering the yearly Mission Profile (MP) data related to Ambient Temperature (AT) and Solar Irradiance (SI) at the India and Denmark locations. The effectiveness of the proposed hybrid Si/SiC power module is tested by comparing it with a conventional IGBT power module. The results showcase the marked improvement in PV inverter reliability with the proposed hybrid power module.

Investigation of a Low-Speed Commutation Voltage Shock Problem in Three-Level ANPC Inverter with Hybrid Modulation Mode

“…In this paper, a hybrid modulation strategy is also used, and the long-loop hybrid modulation mode is very suitable for the study due to the consideration of cost as well as efficiency. The cost and efficiency of the hybrid modulation mode are studied in detail in [26][27][28], where a large number of studies have proved that the hybrid modulation mode is undoubtedly the best solution to reduce the cost of the inverter, and the cost can be reduced by nearly half in the hybrid modulation mode of Si and SiC.…”

Series RLC Resonant Circuit Used as Frequency Multiplier

“…The development of electronic systems has been constant, with advantages in areas such as switched-mode power supply systems, filters, etc. Currently, designers have focused on reducing cost, size, and increasing energy efficiency to achieve a good use of energy and extend the life of electronic devices [1][2][3]. A good way to achieve these objectives is to operate at high frequencies, as this reduces the size of the components that store energy, which reduces the cost of the total converter and increases the power density [4][5][6][7].…”