2022 journal article

A Gen-3 10-kV SiC MOSFET-Based Medium-Voltage Three-Phase Dual Active Bridge Converter Enabling a Mobile Utility Support Equipment Solid State Transformer

IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics, 10(2), 1519–1536.

By: A. Anurag  n, S. Acharya*, S. Bhattacharya* , T. Weatherford* & A. Parker

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
author keywords: Dual active bridge converter system; gate driver; medium voltage; silicon carbide (SiC) devices; solid state transformer
Source: ORCID
Added: April 14, 2022

The emergence of medium-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices, in ranges of 10&#x2013;15 kV, has led to the development of simple two-level converter systems for medium-voltage applications. A medium-voltage mobile utility support equipment-based three-phase solid state transformer (MUSE-SST) system, based on Gen3 10 kV SiC MOSFETs, is developed to interconnect a three-phase 4160 V/60 Hz grid to a three-phase 480 V/60 Hz grid to provide a shore-to-ship power interface for naval vessels. The MUSE-SST system consists of three power conversion stages, namely, MVac/MVdc stage (MV: active front-end converter), MVdc/LVdc stage (dual active bridge converter), and LVdc/LVac stage (LV: active front-end converter). The galvanic isolation is introduced in the MVdc/LVdc stage using MV/LV high-frequency transformers (HFTs). This article demonstrates the operation of the three-phase Y&#x2013;<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> connected dual active bridge converter used in the MVdc/LVdc stage of the MUSE-SST system. Equations for phase currents, power flow, and zero-voltage switching (ZVS) boundaries are derived for all possible modes for the three-phase Y&#x2013;<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta $ </tex-math></inline-formula> configuration. A detailed parasitic simulation model is derived by measuring and experimentally verifying the parasitic elements of the HFT. A brief discussion regarding the design considerations required for the hardware development of the medium- and low-voltage sides of the three-phase dual active bridge converter is also provided. Successful tests demonstrating the operation and feasibility of the medium-voltage dual active bridge converter, at medium-voltage levels (7.2 kV dc-link voltage), are shown. The results indicate that these devices can accelerate the growth and deployment of the medium-voltage SiC-based converter for isolated and bidirectional medium- to low-voltage dc systems.