A virtual test bench oriented to power module evaluation for hybrid traction systems

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) are becoming widespread and uses devices such as Power Converter (PC). Due to their importance, these devices have attracted the interest of researchers, thus innovative solutions have been developed in recent years. The current study aims to present an electro-thermal simulation tool able to help in the design of a PC. It allows the evaluation of any multilevel PC and the analysis of different operating conditions at low computational cost and avoids expensive tests. The tool is accurately validated against experiments and literature results. In this work, the losses of different PC architectures are evaluated, these include both 2-Level and 3-Level Power Converters (PCs), using IGBT3, EDT2 and MOSFET as power modules. An exhaustive comparison between the dissipation of each typology is proposed and the presented virtual test bench is shown to be efficient and accurate in helping the design of a power converter. • Implementation of a numerical tool for the design of power converters. • Many power converters and operating conditions can be quickly evaluated. • Unwanted events can be spotted and preserve power converter life and performance.