APPLICATION OF Z-SOURCE INVERTER IN FUEL-CELL VEHICLES

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a low-cost, efficient, and reliable inverter for traction drives of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Because of the wide volta e ran e of the fuel cell, the inverter and the motor need to be oversi!ed to accommodate the reat constantpowerspeedratio. The "source inverter could be a cheap and reliable solution for this application. Currentl#, two t#pes of inverters are used in FCV and h#brid electric vehicle ($%V) tractiondrives& The traditional pulse width modulation ('()) inverter Thedc*dcboosted'()inverter . For FCVs, the fuel cell volta e to the inverter decreases with an increase in power drawn from the fuel cell. Therefore, the obtainable output volta e of the traditional '() inverter is low at hi h power for this application, so an oversi!ed inverter and motor must be used to meet there+uirement of hi h-speed, hi hpower operation. The dc*dc,boosted '() inverter does nothave this problem- however, the e.tra dc*dc sta e increases the comple.it# of the circuit and the cost and reduces the s#stem efficienc#. To demonstrate the superiorit# of the "-source inverter forFCVs, a comprehensive comparison between the three inverters has been made for the efficiency, price and switchingdevicepowercomparision(sdpc). /everal '() schemes with shootthrou h are proposed and compared. The '() scheme with the ma.imum constant boost, different from other '() schemes proposed, results in less switchin loss. The test results demonstrated that the ori inal objective of the paper had been achieved& hi h efficienc# ( reater than 012), low cost (with minimal device ratin s), improved reliabilit# (because no deadtime is needed), and wide constant power speed ratio (3.44 times that of the traditional '()inverter, than5s to the volta e boost). The results of this paper demonstrate the man# uni+ue features of the "-sourceinverter and its hi h feasibilit# for use in FCVs. 6s the automotive industr# has been ur ed to develop $%Vs based on a combination of internal combustion en ine and batteries as a brid in technolo # to FCVs, issues and possibilities are addressed for the use of the "-source inverter in 7C% $%V traction drive s#stems.

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?. Inp't f'e( ce(( vo(tage$ 7@?87 * dc INTR !"#TI N$ %&so'rceinverter is a (ow&cost, efficient, and re(iab(e inverter for traction drives of f'e( ce(( vehic(es ()#*s). +eca'se of the wide vo(tage range of the f'e( ce((, the inverter and the motor need to be oversi%ed to accommodate the great constant power speed ratio. The ,&so'rce inverter co'(d be a cheap and re(iab(e so('tion for this app(ication. -./ N00! 1 IN*0RT0R ) R )"02& #022*0.I#20$ )'e( ce((s, as one of the most promising energy so'rces, .ave been 'sing s'ch as, 'ti(ity app(icationsand traction app(ications ."n(i3e batteries that havefair(y constant o'tp't vo(tage, the f'e( ce(( has a 'ni4'e *& Icharacteristic and wide vo(tage change range as shown in )ig. TR1!ITI N12 IN*0RT0R5$ #'rrent(y, there are two eAisting inverter topo(ogies 'sedfor hybrid e(ectric and f'e( ce(( vehic(es$ the conventiona( 6&phase P'(se -idth Bod'(ation (P-B) inverter and 6&phaseP-B inverter with a dc&dc boost converter, which is a(sovery

1. 1s can be seen from the fig're, the o'tp't vo(tage of thef'e( ce(( decreases as the o'tp't c'rrent increases. This res'(ts in diffic'(ty for high&speed, and high&power operation to achieve a great #onstant Power 5peed Ratio (#P5R). Inaddition, a (arger inverter is re4'ired. 5pecifications of the inverter for f'e( ce(( )#*s are as fo((ows$ 1. #ontin'o's power$ 67 38. Pea3 power$ 99 3- for 1: seconds 6. Inverter efficiency ;<=> at673pop'(ar in other app(ications. 6.+eca'se of the widevo(tage range and (imited vo(tage (eve( of f'e( ce(( stac3, the conventiona( P-Binverter topo(ogy imposes high stressesto the switching devices and motor, and (imits the motorCsconstant power speed ratio. ?.The dcDdc boosted P-B inverter topo(ogy can a((eviate the stresses and (imitations, however,s'ffers prob(ems s'ch as high cost and comp(eAity associatedwith the two&stage power conversion.

The new(y proposed ,&so'rce inverter has the capacity to so(ve the above prob(ems and 'ni4'e feat're that 1. it can boost the o'tp't vo(tage by introd'cing shoot thro'gh operation mode, which is forbidden in traditiona( vo(tage so'rce inverters. 8. -ith this 'ni4'e feat're, the ,&so'rce inverter provides a cheaper,simp(er, sing(e stage approach for app(ications of f'e( ce((. 6. Th's, the ,&so'rce inverter system can minimi%e stresses andsi%e of the motor and increase o'tp't power great(y. ?. Boreover, it high(y enhances beca'se theshoot thro'gh can no (onger destroy the (i mitations of the Traditiona( #onverters$ E 2imited o'tp't vo(tage (; or F *dc) E 0ither b'c3 or boostoperation on(y E Not interchangeab(e main circ'its E *'(nerab(e to 0BI noise E !iffic'(t to 'se IG+T mod'(e and IPB for I5o'rce E 5tart&'p diffic'(ty E 5hoot&thro'gh or opencirc'it prob(em @re(iabi(ity 0HI5T0N#0 ) ,&5 "R#0IN*0RT0R$ 0000-e need a new type of inverter to so(ve the fo((owing prob(ems for f'e( ce(($ E Two&stage power conversion E .igh cost E 2ow efficiency E !iffic'(t to start 'p (in&r'sh) E Re(iabi(ity prob(em (v'(nerab(e to 0BI) To have a new power conversion techno(ogy . The ,&so'rce inverter o'tp'ts a re4'ired vo(tageby adI'sting the shoot thro'gh d'ty cyc(e with the restrictionto 3eep the vo(tage across the switches not to eAceed its (imit. 5hoot thro'gh for P-Bcontro($ #ontro( methods for %&so'rce inverter $ 5evera( contro( methods have been proposed$ simp(e contro( , maAim'm boost contro( ,and maAim'm constant boost contro( . #ompared with a traditiona( vo(tage so'rce inverter, the ,&so'rce inverter has an eAtraswitching state$ inverter. 0000000000000000

shoot&thro'gh. !'ring the shoot&tho'gh state, the o'tp't vo(tage to the (oadtermina(s is %ero, the same as traditiona( %ero states. Therefore, to maintain sin'soida( o'tp'tvo(tage, the active&state d'ty ratio has to be maintained and some or a(( of the %ero states t'rnedinto shoot&thro'gh state.

thro'gh state can minimi%e the vo(tage stressJhowever, doing so a(so ca'ses a shootthro'gh d'ty ratio varying in a (ine cyc(e, which ca'ses ind'ctor c'rrent ripp(e K17L. This wi(( re4'ire high ind'ctance for (ow&fre4'ency orvariab(e&fre4'ency app(ications.

simp(e contro($ The simp(e contro( 'ses two straight (ines to contro( the shoot&thro'gh states, as shown in )ig. ?.1. -hen the triang'(ar waveform is greater than the 'pper enve(ope, *p, or (ower than the bottom enve(ope, *n, the circ'it t'rns into shoot& thro'gh state. therwise it operates I'st astraditiona( carrier&based P-B. This method is very straight forwardJ however, the res'(tingvo(tage stress across the device is re(ative(y high beca'se some traditiona( %ero states are not 'ti(i%ed. (a) BaAim'm boost contro(.

(b) BaAim'm boost contro( with third harmonic inIection. BaAim'm #onstant +oost #ontro( The s3etch map of maAim'm constant boost contro( BaAim'm +oost #ontro( To f'((y 'ti(i%e the %ero states so as to minimi%e the vo(tage stress across the device,maAim'm boost contro( t'rns a(( traditiona( %ero states into shoot& thro'gh state, as shown in)ig. ?.8. Third harmonic inIection can a(so be 'sed to eAtend the mod'(ation indeA range.Indeed, t'rning a(( %ero states into shoot& is shown in )ig. ?.6. This methodachieves maAim'm boost whi(e 3eeping the shoot&thro'gh d'ty ratio a(ways constantJ th's itres'(ts in no (ine fre4'ency c'rrent ripp(e thro'gh the ind'ctors. The s3etch map of maAim'mconstant boost contro( with third harmonic inIection is shown in )ig. ?.6(b).

-ith this method, theinverter can b'c3 and boost the vo(tage from %ero to any desired va('e smooth(y within the (imitof the device vo(tage.

.1ct 'a( price comparision$ 1gain, the ,&so'rce has the(owest price among the three inverters. In addition, beca'se it has fewer components, a higher mean time between fai('res canbe eApe cted, which (eads to better re(iabi(ity.

comparision between the inverters$ 5witchingdevice powercomparision$ The ,&so'rce inverterCs average 5!PR is the sma((est among the three, whi(e theconventiona( P-B inverterCs 5!PRs are the highest in both average and pea3 va('es. average 5!PR a(so indicates therma( re4'irementfrom a distrib'tor are (isted in tab(e8. The ,&so'rce a(so red'ces the tota( average5!P by 19>, which (eads to costred'ction. 0))I#I0N#/ # BP1RI5I N$ 1..The ,&so'rce inverter can increase inverter conversion efficiency by 1> over the two eAisting systems 8.Invertermotorsystem efficiency by 1> to 19> over the conventiona(P-B inverter.

E 1 new type of inverter has been presented. E The ,&so'rce inverter is specia((y s'ited forf'e( ce(( app(ications. E "ni4'e feat'res inc('de b'c3&boost inversion by sing(e power&conversion stage,improved re(iabi(ity, strong 0BI imm'nity,and (ow 0BI. E The ,&so'rce techno(ogy can be app(ied tothe entire spectr'm of power conversion. .1!*1NT1G05$ E Provides the b'c3&boost f'nction by onestageconversionJ E Is imm'ne to 0BI noise and misgating(i.e., mis& gating on and off by 0BI noisewi(( not destroy the converter) E .as the advantages of both traditiona( converters$ *& and I& convertersJ E 5o(ves the prob(ems of the traditiona( convertersJ E .as (ow or no in&r'sh c'rrent compared with the *& converterJ and E .as (ow common&mode noise .Improves power factor and red'ces harmonic c'rrentand common&mode vo(tage. # N#2"5I N$ References$ 1. ). ,. Peng, 2i .'i, 5' G'i&Mia, M. 5. 2aw(er, N1 new ,*5 bidirectiona( dc&dc converter forf'e( ce(( and battery app(ication,O I000 Transactions on Power 0(ectronics, 1< pp. 9?@P9. 8. 5. 0. Gay, Gao .ongwei, B. 0hsani, N)'e( ce(( hybrid drive train config'rations and motordrive se(ection,O presented at *ehic'(ar Techno(ogy #onference, 8778, 8(8?@8:), 5ept. 8778,pp. 77=@ 1717. 6. Tadaichi Bats'moto, Nob'o -atanabe, .iroshi 5'gi'ra, Tets'hiro