Influence of Relative Humidity on the Temperature Increase of a Power Converter

Yang Xu; Hao Chen; Zhentao Hu; Dong Li

Influence of Relative Humidity on the Temperature Increase of a Power Converter

Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 841-848, May 2015

10.6113/JPE.2015.15.3.841

Moist air

Power converter

Relative humidity

Switched reluctance motor system

Thermal model

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Abstract

As a vital part of renewable energy and electrical traction, power converters are supposed to have high reliability and good performance. However, power semiconductors produce considerable heat when the power converter works, which results in high junction temperatures that lower the reliability and performance of the power semiconductors. Many studies show that ambient humidity has a significant effect on power devices, but the influence of high humidity on junction temperatures has yet to be studied. Therefore, this paper presents a thermal model for power converters in moist air to obtain the junction temperature increase, which is utilized for the power converter used in a Switched Reluctance Motor System. Simulation results show that the law of converter temperature distribution is independent of the relative humidity in the case of fixed ambient temperature, whereas the temperature in the power converter decreases as the ambient relative humidity increases. These simulation results are validated with the experimental results.

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Cite this article

[IEEE Style]

Y. Xu, H. Chen, Z. Hu, D. Li, "Influence of Relative Humidity on the Temperature Increase of a Power Converter," Journal of Power Electronics, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 841-848, 2015. DOI: 10.6113/JPE.2015.15.3.841.

[ACM Style]

Yang Xu, Hao Chen, Zhentao Hu, and Dong Li. 2015. Influence of Relative Humidity on the Temperature Increase of a Power Converter. Journal of Power Electronics, 15, 3, (2015), 841-848. DOI: 10.6113/JPE.2015.15.3.841.