Monitoring and fault diagnosis of cascaded converters in hybrid electric automotive systems

Advancements in high-power semiconductor technology have opened new avenues for application of power electronics converters in safety critical automotive applications. Faults occurring in such application specific solid-state converters can lead to fatal consequences as compared to their mechanical counter-parts. This paper discusses the use of statistical moments to detect and identify faults using existing system current and voltage sensors. The technique not only detects system malfunction, but provides information on the device under fault and the nature of the fault. An accurate knowledge of the same will allow appropriate action to avoid escalation of fault.