Multilevel converters for electric propulsion of aircraft

• Grant number: 23/16570-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: December 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Industrial Electronics, Electronic Systems and Controls
• Principal Investigator: Jose Antenor Pomilio
• Grantee: Pablo Henrique Costa da Silva Bernardo Loureiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Elétrica e de Computação (FEEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Company: Ministério da Defesa (Brasil). Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Divisão de Engenharia Mecânica (IEM)
• Associated research grant: 21/11258-5 - Engineering Research Center for the Aerial Mobility of the Future (ERC-AMF), AP.PCPE

Abstract

In the context of an All Electric Aircraft, the Power Electronics Converter for driving the propulsion motor will likely use wide bandgap (WBG) MOSFETs and diodes due to the lower conducting and switching losses, which contribute to increasing the PEC mass and volumetric densities. On the other hand, the di/dt and dv/dt certainly increase, making arising important EMC issues. This PEC uses a multilevel solution due to the planned power and voltage level, modularity, reliability, and resilience characteristics. The aim is to design, model, simulate, and define specifications, develop modulation and control strategies, and test a prototype for a full-voltage (1 to 2 kV), reduced-power (around 10 kW) PEC for use in the rig test of the propulsion electric motors designed.