MA – Software Development for Traction Inverters in Electrical Vehicles

The ever-increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) is a remarkable ongoing change in the industry. Currently, most EVs use the primary two-level converters (B6) with a dc-link voltage maximum of up to 800V. To reach larger power ratings and faster charging (up to MW), some manufacturers are looking for a powertrain solution with a dc-link voltage beyond 1 kV. In such a case, three-level converters, like neutral point clamped (NPC) converters, are preferred since the high voltage stress is distributed over the series-connected switches. However, the hardware design and the control and modulation design of three-level converters are more complicated than that of two-level converters. This research project aims to study and compare different control and modulation methods for three-level converters. Finally, a proper control software should be developed and implemented on a control platform at IISB.

This master thesis comprises: A literature review on the state-of-the-art control and modulation schemes; Building a simulation model of a three-level NPC converter driving a permanent magnet synchronous motor; Simulation of several popular control/modulation schemes, etc. field-oriented control with pulse width modulation, direct-torque control, optimized pulse width modulation; Development and implementation of a proper control software on a system-on-chip field programmable gate arrays (SoC FPGAs) controller (MicroZohm/UltraZohm).

Required prior knowledge: Fundamentals about power electronics and its control, pulse width modulation.

Required software skill: MATLAB/Simulink or PLECS, Embedded C. (Experience in FPGA or Xilinx Vivado Design Suit and Vitis would be greatly appreciated.)

Bearbeiter: Leon Niese

Betreuer: Yang Qifan

Verantwortlicher: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin März