Fast Simulator for the Estimation of Inverter DC-link Temperature in e-Drives Subjected to Highly Variable Working Cycles

Accurate estimation of losses and operating temperatures is extremely important for the design of traction inverters and its validation for specific operating conditions. Although several methods are already available in the literature to estimate the semiconductor power losses, the power losses and temperature evaluation of inverter DC-link capacitors are less explored. Therefore, this paper presents a fast simulation model of traction eDrive to provide accurate estimation of DC-link loss and temeperature, as well as DC link voltage ripple evaluation. The proposed model is implemented in Simulink and consists of both a loss model based on loss maps and a circuital model to estimate the dc-link voltage ripple. This model is very fast and therefore it is very useful when the eDrive is subject to long and highly variable driving cycles. Moreover, the model accounts for the influence of the main parts of the powertrain and allows a proper verification of the selected DC link capacitor.