Conducted EMI modeling and mitigation for power converters and motor drives

The increasing use of power electronics in aircraft power systems to enable new, more-electric aircraft (MEA) functions has also led to increasing EMI emission. EMI filters may account for more than 50% of the overall volume and weight of high-power converters such as variable-speed motor drives. The traditional approach to mitigating EMI requires functional prototypes and EMI measurements before filter design can start. Such an empirical, EMI-last approach results in designs that are suboptimal at best and is a major cause for schedule delay and disruption. This paper reviews recent research on EMI modeling and system solutions to EMI, emphasizing conducted emission of three-phase converters and variable-speed drives that dominate system EMI filtering requirements. The goal is to enable a concurrent-EMI design approach and to develop optimal system solutions that minimize the overall volume and size.