High-efficiency RB-IGBT based low-voltage PWM current-source converter for PMSG wind energy conversion systems

A low-voltage (LV) pulse-width modulated current-source converter (CSC) using reverse-blocking insulated gate bipolar transistor (RB-IGBT) devices is proposed in this paper for megawatt wind energy conversion systems (WECSs) with a permanent magnet synchronous generator. Benefiting from using the latest generation of reverse-blocking power semiconductors, the presented configuration is able to push the switching frequency to a higher range and overcome the traditional drawback of low efficiency in LV CSCs. Design of the configuration, switching scheme, and system control are briefly introduced. Semiconductor and converter loss models are developed for detailed efficiency study of the proposed system. The overall high-efficiency performance of the LV CSC based WECS is verified by simulation results and comparison with the state-of-the-art solution using voltage-source converters.