Joshua Stewart - Improved Power Density of 6 kV, 1 MW PEBB Through Insulation Coordination

Title: Improved Power Density of a 6 kV, 1 MW Power Electronics Building Block (PEBB) Through Insulation Coordination
Presenter: Joshua Stewart was selected as the best presenter in the Higher Power 2 area during the Lab Dialogue Session at the 2023 CPES Annual Conference.
Advisor: Rolando Burgos
Abstract: In this work, key aspects of the insulation coordination in a 6 kV, 1 MW power electronics building block (PEBB) is presented. Each PEBB can be stacked in various series- parallel configurations as part of a modular multilevel converter sustaining at least 30 kV common mode. Ansys Maxwell 3D and COMSOL Multiphysics were used for electric field analysis to aid in the design of component and system level insulation. Design and analysis of a PCB-based bus with capacitor daughtercards and high voltage considerations for the cooling system are presented. Insulation integrity of key systems were verified to be partial discharge free at their maximum voltage rating.
Keywords: corona, electric field control, capacitor daughtercard, insulation assessment, medium voltage bus, MVDC, partial discharge, PCB bus, PEBB, silicon carbide.