High Power Density and High Efficiency Wide Band-Gap Power Converters

In the aviation sector, fuel dependency and weight are two significant problems to be solved to reduce CO2 emission and operating cost. The reasons are bulky and inefficient power sources in aircraft such as mechanical, hydraulic and pneumatic. As a solution, aircraft manufacturers have proposed a more electric aircraft (MEA) concept which uses electrical source for many subsystems in the aircraft. Due to increased electrical sources and new loads, the MEA has more complex electric power networks than the conventional aircraft, and thus they require efficient and light conversion solutions. Power converters, hence, are the heart of the MEA since they control and convert the electrical power between electric sources and loads. However, current power converters used in the aircraft are heavy and less-efficient compared to converters used in different sectors such as electric vehicles. To make power converters small, light and efficient for MEA applications, multi-objective optimization of the cutting-edge technologies such as wide bandgap semiconductors, cooling systems, and novel topologies should be explored. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the wide bandgap semiconductor switches (SiC and GaN), advanced cooling systems and topologies to develop a high power density and high efficiency power converter for MEA applications. The research contributes to the aviation sector to achieve a cost-effective, less fuel depended and environment friendly air transportation.