![\"husain-inverter-2016-header-992x558\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Husain-inverter-2016-HEADER-992x558.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nNow researchers at the Future Renewable Electric Energy Distribution and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center at NC State have developed an inverter using off-the-shelf components made of the wide-bandgap semiconductor material silicon carbide (SiC) \u2013 with promising results.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur silicon carbide prototype inverter can transfer 99 percent of energy to the motor, which is about two percent higher than the best silicon-based inverters under normal conditions,\u201d says Iqbal Husain, ABB Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State and director of the FREEDM Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cEqually important, the silicon carbide inverters can be smaller and lighter than their silicon counterparts, further improving the range of electric vehicles,\u201d says Husain, who co-authored two papers related to the work. \u201cAnd new advances we\u2019ve made in inverter components should allow us to make the inverters even smaller still.\u201d<\/p>\n
Range is an important issue because so-called \u201crange anxiety\u201d is a major factor limiting public acceptance of electric vehicles. People are afraid they won\u2019t be able to travel very far or that they\u2019ll get stuck on the side of the road.<\/p>\n
The new SiC-based inverter is able to convey 12.1 kilowatts of power per liter (kW\/L) \u2013 close to the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s goal of developing inverters that can achieve 13.4 kW\/L by 2020. By way of comparison, a 2010 electric vehicle could achieve only 4.1 kW\/L.<\/p>\n
\u201cConventional, silicon-based inverters have likely improved since 2010, but they\u2019re still nowhere near 12.1 kW\/L,\u201d Husain says.<\/p>\n
The power density of new SiC materials allows engineers to make the inverters \u2013 and their components, such as capacitors and inductors \u2013 smaller and lighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, frankly, we are pretty sure that we can improve further on the energy density that we\u2019ve shown with this prototype,\u201d Husain says.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the new inverter prototype was made using off-the-shelf SiC components \u2013 and FREEDM researchers have recently made new, ultra-high density SiC power components that they expect will allow them to get closer to DOE\u2019s 13.4 kW\/L target once it\u2019s incorporated into next generation inverters.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, the design of the new power component is more effective at dissipating heat than previous versions. This could allow the creation of air-cooled inverters, eliminating the need for bulky (and heavy) liquid cooling systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe predict that we\u2019ll be able to make an air-cooled inverter up to 35 kW using the new module, for use in motorcycles, hybrid vehicles and scooters,\u201d Husain says. \u201cAnd it will boost energy density even when used with liquid cooling systems in more powerful vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The current SiC inverter prototype was designed to go up to 55 kW \u2013 the sort of power you\u2019d see in a hybrid vehicle. The researchers are now in the process of scaling it up to 100 kW \u2013 akin to what you\u2019d see in a fully electric vehicle \u2013 using off-the-shelf components. And they\u2019re also in the process of developing inverters that make use of the new, ultra-high density SiC power component that they developed on-site.<\/p>\n
A paper on the new inverter, \u201cDesign Methodology for a Planarized High Power Density EV\/HEV Traction Drive using SiC Power Modules,\u201d will be presented at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE), being held Sept. 18-22 in Milwaukee. Lead author of the paper is Dhrubo Rahman, a Ph.D. student at NC State. The paper was co-authored by Adam Morgan, Yang Xu and Rui Gao, who are Ph.D. students at NC State; Wensong Yu and Douglas Hopkins, research professors in NC State\u2019s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Husain.<\/p>\n
A paper on the new, ultra-high density SiC power component, \u201cDevelopment of an Ultra-high Density Power Chip on Bus Module,\u201d will also be presented at ECCE. Lead author of the paper is Yang Xu. The paper was co-authored by Yu, Husain and Hopkins, as well as by Harvey West, a research professor in NC State\u2019s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.<\/p>\n
The research was done with the support of the PowerAmerica Institute, a public-private research initiative housed at NC State and funded by DOE\u2019s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy under award number DE-EE0006521. FREEDM, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center, is aimed at facilitating the development and implementation of new renewable electric-energy technologies.<\/p>\n
Source: https:\/\/news.ncsu.edu\/2016\/09\/inverters-boost-ev-range-2016\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new type of inverter device with greater efficiency in a smaller, lighter package \u2013 which should improve the fuel-efficiency and range of hybrid and electric vehicles. Electric and hybrid vehicles rely on inverters to ensure that enough electricity is conveyed from the battery to the motor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,26,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automotive","category-ev-and-hybrid","category-research"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p79TdE-Ez","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":261,"url":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?p=261","url_meta":{"origin":2515,"position":0},"title":"Hybrid and EV Developments","author":"Tom Denton","date":"June 29, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"AZD\u2019s next-gen hybrid and EV systems will bring innovations, lower cost 24-Jun-2010 20:45 GMT AZD's new technologies being prepared for 2012-13 will leverage learnings gained from developing the electric drivetrain for Ford's 2011 Transit Connect EV (shown). 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