Loss analysis of current source converter for 10kV IGCT in 7MW PMSG wind turbine systems

This paper provides a power converter loss and thermal description for current source type 7MW-class medium voltage wind turbines. The target current source type converter system employs 10kV IGCT as a main power semiconductor platform which has been recently developed and has the potential to push wind turbine systems to higher power and voltage rating. Transient thermal modelling of a four-layer Foster network for heat transfer is utilized to better estimate the transient junction and case temperature of power semiconductors during various operating conditions in wind turbines. The loss analysis is confirmed through PLECS simulations. The simulation result shows that the largest total losses of CSC is generated under the power factor of 0.9 leading condition. 10kV IGCT and diodes have the potential to improve the power density and reliability of large scaled wind turbine systems.