A NOVEL TECHNIQUE FOR DYNAMIC COLLECTOR VOLTAGE & CURRENT CLAMPING METHOD FOR DRIVING HIGH POWER SEMICONDUCTOR TO ENHANCE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-POWER CONVERTERS IN EV
Brahmbhatt, Hiren; N, Thangadurai
Keywords:
Dynamic (active) voltage clamp, Current clamp, IGBT, reliability, EV (Electric Vehicle), VCE (collectoremitter voltage)Abstract
The electric drive and the batteries are the two primary parts of an electric vehicle (EV). In order to
increase the availability and dependability of the semiconductors used in traction converters, this research
focuses on a new approach of semiconductor (IGBT) protection. The IGBT spike voltage during a short
circuit situation was successfully reduced by a newly created active voltage and current clamping circuit.
This innovative method restricts IGBT’s collector-emitter voltage during the turn-off event. As soon as
the collector-emitter voltage of the IGBT crosses a predetermined threshold, the IGBT is partially turned
on. The IGBT is then kept operating linearly, minimizing the rate at which the collector current falls and,
consequently, and the collector-emitter over voltage. Simultaneously, during the short circuit, the current
is monitored by a high precision hall-effect sensor allegro make IC, which detects over current and
provides a fault output within 1 second. As a result of the combination of current and voltage monitoring,
the likelihood of the IGBT failure is reduced.
