Probability Analysis of Switching Events in Power Electronic Converters

This paper introduces a methodology for analyzing the behavior of power electronic converters using probability analysis based on a probability distribution function (pdf). The methodology is developed using both numerical and analytical techniques. The analytical pdf methodology is verified against the results from numerical computation using Monte Carlo simulations under a wide variety of operating conditions and different modulation schemes. The proposed pdf methodology has the advantage of a more comprehensive representation of the actual utilization of the power devices in real world usage, such as the power converters used in electrified vehicles. This statistical approach is applied to estimate both switching and conduction losses. The approach is shown to be computationally more efficient than numerical simulation to estimate the power converter losses.