Thermal Analysis of High Power High Voltage DC Solid State Power Controller (SSPC) for Next Generation Civil Tilt Rotor-craft

This paper explores different possible topologies of a high-power high-voltage bidirectional DC solid state power controller (SSPC) for aerospace applications. The most suitable topology is then selected for design and implementation of the SSPC. A detailed analytical thermal model of the most preferred SSPC is presented in this paper. Using the thermal model, the junction temperatures of the potential IGBT and MOSFET modules selected for the SSPC design are estimated during nominal and over-current situations. The prediction of the semiconductor device's junction temperature is of major significance during the design process of the SSPCs to ensure thermal stability during over-current situations. Later, a thermal model of the SSPC is built in a computer simulation software named PLECS and the junction temperature of the devices are evaluated for nominal and all over-loading conditions. In addition, the overall efficiency, weight, and power density of the SSPCs with respect to the selected devices are approximated. The device that exhibits better thermal resilience and good power density is selected for the future development of the DC SSPC for more electric aircraft.