Wechselrichter im Antriebsstrang von Elektrofahrzeugen verbinden Batterie und Motor miteinander. Bei konventionellen Wechselrichtern ist die Ständerspannung des Fahrmotors durch die Batteriespannung begrenzt. Dies ist vor allem bei hohen Drehzahlen nachteilig, da hier ein zusätzlicher feldschwächender Strom notwendig ist. Dieser Strom wiederum verursacht zusätzliche Verluste in der Maschine und der Leistungselektronik. Einen alternativen Ansatz bieten hochsetzende Wechselrichter. Die Begrenzung der Ständerspannung durch die Batterie entfällt. In der vorliegenden Diplomarbeit werden zwei hochsetzende Wechselrichter miteinander verglichen. Zunächst wird die Funktionsweise des Wechselrichters mit Hochsetzsteller und des ZSource-Wechselrichters erläutert. Danach werden Bauelemente für beide hochsetzende Wechselrichter ausgewählt. Anschließend werden die Verluste und das thermische Verhalten der ausgewählten Konfigurationen analysiert und mit Matlab simuliert. Abschließend werden der Wechselrichter mit Hochsetzsteller und der Z-Source-Wechselrichter bezüglich der Kriterien Wirkungsgrad, Zuverlässigkeit und Fertigungsaufwand miteinander verglichen. / Inverter in the drive train of electric vehicles connect the battery to the machine. Using conventional inverters, the stator voltage is limited by the battery voltage. This is mainly a disadvantage at a high speed, since an additional field weakening current is needed. This current produces extra losses in the electrical machine and the power electronics. DC/DC boosted inverters offer an alternative solution. A limitation of stator voltage through the battery does not occur. This diploma thesis is comparing two kinds of DC/DC boosted inverters. First the functionality of an inverter with boost converter and that of a Z-Sourceinverter are presented. Afterwards the electrical components for both inverters are chosen and are simulated using Matlab. Finally the results of the simulation are compared with respect to power effciency, reliability of the electrical components and the effort of production.

The still increasing demand of electrical energy and the rising popularity of renewable energy sources in today's world are two important developments that necessitate the need for innovative solutions in the field of power electronics. Parallel operation of converters is one possible method in trying to bridge an increased current demand. The classical two-level converters, which are the standard in low voltage applications, are rarely adopted in medium and high voltage applications due to the voltage limits on power semiconductor devices. That is one reason for the growing popularity of multilevel converter topologies in medium and high-voltage applications. Although an increase in the number of voltage levels of a multilevel converter has its advantages, there are also challenges posed due to the increased number of switching devices. This has resulted in three-level converters being the most popular compared to converters of higher voltage levels. In this dissertation, the unified operation of parallel connected three-level converter units as a multilevel converter of higher voltage levels is proposed. The mathematical basis for operating parallel connected converter units as a single multilevel converter and the governing equations for such systems are derived. The analysis and the understanding of these equations are important for assessing practicality of the system and devising appropriate control structures. Parallel operation of converter units operating as multilevel converter have their own set of challenges, the two foremost being that of load-sharing and the possibility of circulating and cross currents. Developing solutions to address these challenges require a thorough understanding of how these manifest in the proposed system. Algorithms are then developed for tackling these issues. The control structures are designed and the developed algorithms are implemented. The operation of the system is verified experimentally. / Die weiterhin steigende Nachfrage nach elektrischer Energie und die zunehmende Verwendung erneuerbarer Energiequellen in der heutigen Welt sind zwei wichtige Entwicklungen, die die Notwendigkeit innovativer Lösungen im Bereich der Leistungselektronik erfordern. Der Parallelbetrieb von Stromrichtern ist eine mögliche Methode, um einen erhöhten Strombedarf zu decken. Der klassische Zweipunkt-Spanungszwischenkreisstromrichter, der bei Niederspannungsanwendungen weit verbreitet ist, wird aufgrund der Spannungsgrenzen für Leistungshalbleiterbauelemente zunehmend weniger in Mittel- und Hochspannungsanwendungen eingesetzt. Die begrenzte Spannungsbelastbarkeit der Leistungshalbleiterbauelemente ist ein Grund für die wachsende Beliebtheit von Mehrpunkt-Stromrichtertopologien in Mittelund Hochspannungsanwendungen. Obwohl eine Erhöhung der Anzahl der Spannungsstufen eines Mehrpunkt-Stromrichters Vorteile hat, gibt es auch Herausforderungen und Nachteile aufgrund der erhöhten Anzahl von Leistungshalbleitern. Dies hat dazu geführt, dass der Dreipunkt-Stromrichter die verbreiteste Topologie im Vergleich zu anderen Stromrichtern mit einer höheren Anzahl von Spannungsstufen ist. In dieser Dissertation wird der Betrieb von parallel geschalteten Dreipunkt-Stromrichtereinheiten als ein Mehrpunkt-Stromrichter mit erhöhter Anzahl an Spannungsstufen vorgeschlagen. Die mathematische Basis für den Betrieb von parallel geschalteten Stromrichtereinheiten als ein Mehrpunkt-Stromrichter und die beschreibenden Gleichungen eines solchen Systems werden abgeleitet. Die Analyse und das Verständnis dieser Gleichungen sind wichtig für die Beurteilung der Praktikabilität des Systems und die Erarbeitung geeigneter Regelstrukturen. Der parallele Betrieb von Stromrichtereinheiten hat seine eigenen Herausforderungen, wobei die beiden wichtigsten die Lastverteilung und die Möglichkeit von Kreis- und Querströmen sind. Die Entwicklung von Lösungen zur Bewältigung dieser Herausforderungen erfordert ein gründliches Verständnis dafür, wie sich diese Phänomene in dem vorgeschlagenen System manifestieren. Algorithmen zur Lösung dieser Probleme werden anschlieend entwickelt. Die Regelstrukturen werden entworfen und die entworfenen Algorithmen implementiert. Die Funktionsweise des Systems wird experimentell überprüft.

Stationary electrical connections and contacts, such as power connections, are commonly applied in electric power systems used for generation, transmission and distribution of electric energy. Several different degradation mechanisms can increase the contact resistance and might therefore reduce the power connection’s lifetime. The degradation by film development as a result of chemical reactions is often considered as a reason for contact failure. In this research work, the impact of film development produced by chemical reactions, such as oxidation, on the long-term behavior of stationary electrical connections and contacts was studied with crossed rods. Analytical, numerical and experimental methods were applied. Typical material systems for electric power systems were considered in this study: Cu-ETP (CW004A) bare, silver-, nickel- or tin-coated, Al99.5 (EN AW-1050A) and AlMgSi0.5 (EN AW-6060). By applying numerical methods, the mechanical stress distribution was determined within a circular contact point. The initial contact resistance and the plastic deformed area of the considered material systems was measured in experimental tests. The film’s impact was further determined through comparative experimental studies in air (standard atmosphere) and N2 (inert gas). During the experimental tests on perpendicularly crossed rods, other degradation mechanisms such as force reduction were suppressed. The film’s impact within the formation phase was studied on copper rods in an oven at 200 °C for 1000 h. Moreover, the dependency on different environments at 90 °C (laboratory, botanical garden and outdoor) was tested for 12000 h. Additional long-term tests over 12000 h were conducted at 200 °C. The contact resistance was determined dependent on time. Furthermore, the plastic deformed area was ascertained by microscopy. It was found that the time dependent film development caused by chemical reactions such as oxidation might possibly not result in a significant degradation of stationary electrical contacts with circular contact points and a constant force. Supplementary studies were performed at 200 °C for 1000 h with perpendicularly crossed rods at low forces (3.5 N) as well as analytical assessment of radial and axial film growth on circular contact points. The measured long-term behavior of perpendicularly crossed rods was similar for low and high forces. In order to study the long-term behavior of power connections operated in areas with harsh environmental conditions, experimental field tests on bolted busbar joints were conducted in desert and tropical rainforest environments. For over two and a half years, long-term field tests investigating bolted busbar joints made of Cu-ETP, Al99.5 (EN-AW-1350A) or AlMgSi0.5 (EN AW-6060) either with or without coating (silver, tin or nickel) were conducted in Belém (Brazil), Ismailia (Egypt) and Dresden (Germany).

This work presents a 6.5-kV 1-kA SiC bipolar diode module for megawatt-range medium voltage converters. The study comprises a review of SiC devices and bipolar diodes, a description of the die and module technology, device characterization and modelling and benchmark of the device at converter level. The effects of current change rate, temperature variation, and different insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules for the switching cell, as well as parasitic oscillations are discussed. A comparison of the results with a commercial Si diode (6.5 kV and 1.2 kA) is included. The benchmark consists of an estimation of maximum converter output power, maximum switching frequency, losses and efficiency in a three level (3L) neutral point clamped (NPC) voltage-source converter (VSC) operating with SiC and Si diodes. The use of a model predictive control (MPC) algorithm to achieve higher efficiency levels is also discussed. The analysed diode module exhibits a very good performance regarding switching loss reduction, which allows an increase of at least 10 % in the output power of a 6-MVA converter. Alternatively, the switching frequency can be increased by 41 %.

This work presents different novel gate drive unit (GDU) concepts for IGBT and reverse conducting IGBT (RC-IGBT). They have been experimentally tested with medium voltage class IGBT modules (1200...1700V/650…1400A) and a RC-IGBT module (1200V/200A). The switching behaviour of the RC-IGBT was investigated, and a new trigger pulse pattern to drive the RC-IGBT was developed, designed and implemented. The experimental results showed that the switching losses were reduced by 20% in the RC-IGBT compared to the switching losses of a standard diode. Two novel schemes are introduced to estimate the collector current through the IGBT, based on the measurement of the voltage across the internal stray inductance of the IGBT module. Furthermore, a GDU concept was derived to balance the on-state collector currents of parallel-connected IGBTs, reducing the current imbalance to 5%. Also, a new fast short circuit protection method (FSCP) for IGBT modules was developed, designed and implemented in another GDU, allowing turning-off the considered IGBT in less than 1μs, reducing the IGBT stress. Another scheme implemented in a GDU features an improved gate current switching profile of the IGBT, which reduces the switching losses by 25% compared to the standard switching method. In order to reduce the conduction losses, a GDU with an increased turn-on gate-emitter voltage (larger than 20 V) was investigated. In the investigated IGBT, the on-state losses were reduced by 18% when a gate-emitter voltage of 35V is used compared to when a gate-emitter voltage of 15V is used. All these new GDU concepts have been implemented with a simple and inexpensive electronic circuitry, which is an important feature for a possible industrial implementation.