Technology for Wind Turbine Inverter with Increased Reliability

Focus:

In wind power systems, a common approach combines a wind turbine with a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) and inverter comprised of grid side converter, rotor machine side converter, and dc bus. These converters are implemented with IGBT modules, which experience varying load currents that result in thermal cycling and ultimately cause modules to fail. This article describes the failure mechanisms for these modules and describes enhancements to IGBT module design that improve their reliability.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand the impact of varying loads and temperature cycling on the reliability of IGBT modules used in wind turbine inverters
• How to improve the reliability of wind turbine inverters through used of IGBT modules designed for enhanced reliability

Notes:

Article appears on pages 24-27 of January issue in article archive. You must register to access articles in this magazine's archive.

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Author & Publication:

Michael Sleven, Infineon Technologies AG, Bodo's Power Systems, Jan 01 2009

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