Wide Bandgap-Based Inverter Prototype for Variable Speed Electrical Propulsion Drives

Electrification of aviation requires the utilization of wide bandgap semiconductors for power electronics inverters. Besides strict technical challenges, the inverter design must fulfill application-specific requirements related to the operation at high altitudes. In this paper, an inverter design and prototype are discussed for an electrical propulsion drive utilized in a small air taxi. The conducted Failure Mode and Effects Analysis has identified the most critical potential failure modes of the inverter that could affect the operation of the electrical drive. The design process and commissioning are conducted with a special focus on the controller performance when utilizing disturbed and faulty measurement signals. To this end, the controller performance is evaluated in a Controller-Hardware-in-the-Loop test. Moreover, the challenges concerning the common mode current and filter requirements are addressed. Design validation and examination of the interactions are carried out using test bench setup and simulation models.