Influence of DC-Link Capacitor Faults in Electric Drives for Battery Electric Vehicles

This work investigates the impact of DC-link aluminum electrolytic capacitor wear-out and open-circuit faults in electric drives for battery electric vehicles. An electromechanical model was implemented, consisting of a battery-fed inverter driving an induction motor with a variable load. The failure modes of the DC-link capacitor were described using an analytical degradation model. The effects of these faults were analyzed through harmonic analysis. Results show that wear-out and open-circuit faults cause an increase in harmonic distortion which can lead to a premature deterioration of the battery.