A simple, reliable, cost and volume saving DC-link discharge device for electric vehicles

This paper describes a DC-link discharge device that is smaller and cheaper than conventional resistor or PTC-based solutions. The basic idea is to use the switching element (IGBT, Mosfet), that is usually controlling the PTC or resistor, in a linear mode and decrease the maximum power by shifting the discharge curve from an uncontrolled square voltage dependent curve to a roughly constant power characteristic. The advantages in volume and costs are described and the technical setup is explained and compared to the conventional solutions.