Active Short-Circuit Analysis of SiC Power Devices in Electric Traction Systems using a new Low-Cost Test Bench

The present work describes a simple and cost-effective experimental test bench capable of reproducing the electrothermal stresses to which SiC power devices composing the traction inverter are subject during an active short-circuit event occurring in a permanent magnet synchronous motor drive. The transient current applied to the power devices composing the traction inverter is emulated by suitably combining two RLC circuits, designed to replicate the exponential and oscillatory terms of the short-circuit event. This paper will present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the phenomena leading to the design of the test rig, whose effectiveness will be supported by simulations and a wide campaign of experimental tests performed on 750V, 120A SiC power MOSFETs.