Analysis and Parameter Design of SiC-Based Current Source Inverter (CSI)

Abstract

Current source inverters (CSIs) use inductors as the major component to store energy. Compared with voltage source inverters (VSIs), CSIs have two advantages: 1. They can avoid the converter failure caused by capacitor failures, and 2. The load current does not increase with load mutation or even short-circuit failure. Therefore, CSIs can be a promising technology for EV charging. However, the waveforms, parameter design procedure, and power efficiency are still unclear. Therefore, it is unclear if CSIs are suitable for EV chargers. This article derives the closed-loop equations of the critical components, including the inductor current waveforms and the voltage ripple. Especially, the load over-voltage phenomenon is derived and verified to further ensure the reliability of the CSI system. Based on the derived equations and reliability requirements, the parameter design procedure is proposed. The power efficiency of both the Si- and SiC-based converters are derived and compared to remove the barrier of applying CSIs in EV chargers in the industry. Our simulations and experiments verify the correctness of the system modeling, over-voltage phenomenon, and power efficiency. All the simulation files (using PLECS) and calculation files (using MATLAB) are attached for the readers to verify and/or further modify.

Keywords

• current source inverter (CSI)
• inductor-based converter
• SiC converter
• power efficiency