Over-voltage mitigation on SiC based motor drives through an open end winding configuration

n original overvoltage mitigation technique is presented in this paper for Sic based motor drives, exploiting an open-end winding motor configuration. According to the proposed solution over-voltage occurring at the terminals of the motor phases is mitigated by driving the two inverters through a modified switching pattern including a suitable dwell time. No passive RLC networks are required, thus avoiding additional costs and extra power losses. A comparison between IGBT and SiC MOSFET equipped motor drives is first provided, highlighting the difference in terms of power cable critical length and other factors affecting peak terminal over-voltages. The proposed approach is then theoretically introduced and its consistency is finally assessed by simulations and experimental results.