Novel and Ruggedized Power Electronics for Off-Highway Vehicles

This article covers the challenges in implementing power electronics and drive systems in emerging vehicle applications. The application of power electronics becomes important for higher energy density, decreased fuel consumption, performance and productivity enhancements, and desired protection, diagnostic, and safety features. A sustained effort is needed on power electronics and electric drive system design to achieve the desired level of performance. There can be numerous machines/drives of various types and power levels in a system. In numerous applications, the driving torque varies considerably over a given work cycle, including the occurrence of the stall condition. Therefore, the drive system should have a reliable ride-through capability. To achieve the desired torque/speed profile and dynamic response, a systematic design, development, and deployment of the power electronics-based electric drive system is needed. The application conditions make it difficult to match/exceed mechanical system reliability and costs. Therefore, this article covers the unique challenges of developing and implementing power electronics and drives in harsh vehicle applications. Field examples are described in detail to demonstrate the successful implementation of vehicle electrification programs for heavy-duty off-highway vehicles. The importance of new-generation wide-bandgap (WBG) technologies is also described to highlight the emergence of high-temperature power electronics for heavy-duty, off-highway vehicle applications.