Power losses calculation methodology to evaluate inverter efficiency in electrical vehicles

Nowadays, electrical vehicles (EVs) are of special interest and fuel engines are starting to be substituted by electrical motors. Besides the batteries and the motor, the power electronic devices are important parts in an EV, especially the inverter. This ac/dc power converter drives the electrical motor. Several tools may be needed to achieve an optimal design of the inverter. This paper presents a simplified methodology to estimate power losses in a two-level inverter made up with isolated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). This methodology is based on the IGBT manufacturer datasheet; therefore, the knowledge of internal parameters used in other more complex methodologies is not required. The model is implemented in Matlab-Simulink and allows simulation of different power devices, modulation techniques, and operating conditions very easily. Some results are obtained and validated with commercial electronic software and also with the simulation tool Semisel, provided by the manufacturer of the IGBTs.