Universal Short-Circuit and Open-Circuit Fault Detection for an Inverter

Author

Buck BrownFollow

Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Electrical and Computer Engineering (Holcomb Dept. of)

Committee Chair/Advisor

Zheyu Zhang

Committee Member

Christopher Edrington

Committee Member

Johan Enslin

Abstract

Short-circuit and open-circuit faults of an inverter’s power device often lead to catastrophic failure of the entire system if not detected and acted upon within a few microseconds, particularly for emerging wide bandgap (WGB) power semiconductors. While a significant amount of research has been done on the fast and accurate protection and detection of short-circuit faults, there has been less success corresponding to the research on open-circuit faults. Common downfalls include protection and detection that are too application-specific, take longer than a couple of microseconds, and are not cost-efficient. This study proposes a new open-circuit fault protection and detection system integrated with a pre-existing short-circuit system called desaturation protection. First, a literature review is conducted to confirm the necessity of the new protection and detection scheme. Second, the operation principle of the newly proposed protection and detection circuitry is discussed, and design considerations are given. Third, a comprehensive case study revolving around implementing the new protection and detection system is conducted using Synopsys/Saber simulation software. Fourth, an experiment is devised and constructed to showcase the protection and detection scheme’s success, effectiveness, and adaptability in a real-world environment. Fifth, concluding remarks are given, summarizing all the work presented in this study. The results of testing the proposed system illustrate the success and reliability of the new fault protection and detection system.

Recommended Citation

Brown, Buck, "Universal Short-Circuit and Open-Circuit Fault Detection for an Inverter" (2023). All Theses. 4007.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/4007