Back-to-Back Test Benches for Application-Close Evaluation of Power Electronics

Back-to-back test benches are increasingly used in research for testing power electronics components and systems in application-close conditions and apprehend their reliability and electrical performances. The objective of this paper is to present a polyvalent back-to-back test bench architecture for power modules and exemplify its ability to support R&D with original application-close mission profile replication, failure mode reproduction, lifetime modeling, condition monitoring and soft-switching loss estimation. It highlights the value of back-to-back test benches for R&D laboratories involved in power module testing and opens a discussion on standardization.