Integration and Cooling Strategies for WBG-based Current-Source Inverters-Based Motor Drives

Integration of power electronics and electric machines enables compact and lightweight motor drive design as it eliminates the needs for separate housings and long connecting cables. For a successful realization of the integrated motor drive (IMD) concept, two primary engineering challenges associated with power electronics design need to be addressed: high power density and high-temperature operation. This paper presents the design progression of a wide bandgap (WBG) device-based current-source inverter (CSI) aiming at high power density. Both benchtop (non-IMD) and IMD versions of 3 kW WBG-based CSIs have been developed, and their power density and thermal performance are evaluated. Design issues including trade-offs between power density and thermal performance of printed circuit boards (PCBs), switch configurations, cooling strategies, and several integration schemes are explored.