3.6 MVA Fuel-cell-based Electrical Aircraft Powertrain Design Using 1700V SiC MOSFETs

Aviation is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Fuel-cell-based aviation is a solution to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. SiC semiconductors play a vital role in the voltage conversion stage between the Fuel Cell and the motor. A 3.6MVA powertrain system with 600 V input and 18 phases of 1000 V output is proposed in this paper. The steps of building the power train including power module selection, DC-link capacitor design, main board and gate driver board design and layout, etc. This paper focus on the off-the-shelf 1700V half-bridge SiC power modules selection, which are analyzed and selected using the proposed procedures. The method used to compare and select 1700 V SiC power modules is: Firstly, Figure of Merit is calculated to select devices. Then Power Loss Index vs Normalized Die Area (LINDA) is calculated to find the peak efficiency and the power point where peak efficiency is achieved. Thirdly, the total MOSFET power loss vs the total power is generated. Finally, the junction temperature with -33C, 25C, 70C coolant temperatures is generated. The simulation result shows the feasibility of the selected SiC MOSFET power module.