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The number of cycles to the end of life for high-power IGBT modules is expressed as a function of the stress parameters in the model. Most of the time, these models are generated on the basis of experimental data from accelerated power-cycling experiments that are done at preset temperatures and stress levels. This paper proposed a systematic Reliability evaluation process for large-scale commercial and utility-level PV power systems. The major contribution of this work is the quantification of the impact of junction temperature on the failure rates of critical components such as PV Inverters and capacitors. Usually, the reliability assessment of the power electronic switch such as IGBT and inverter focused on component level, whereas much fewer cases discussed the Reliability evaluation for the entire PV system. In light of the above concerns, this article discussed the effect of junction temperature on the lifetime of IGBT modules, and the relevant lifetime factor is modelled. This study enables us to include the junction temperature effect on the lifetime model of IGBT modules under the given mission profiles of the converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuel cells are now being employed as a source of energy and heat in industrial, transportation, and residential applications. This article presents the real-time implementations and functioning of the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The analysis had been carried out on PEM fuel cells to test the performance systematically and smoothly under transient operations. A change in the current and the resistance of the appliance had been considered for the load variations on PEMFC. This study examined the fuel cell system's efficiency and the time it taken to reach the steady-state without additional means using Artificial intelligence based back propagation network. The proposed analysis proves that the PEM fuel cells which are used for the installations with quickly changing load profiles can provide the improving the system's performance and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While designing the inverter, the total harmonic distortion (THD) in the output is a major concern to decide its performance. In order to calculate the total harmonic distortion (THD) of a symmetric modular multilevel inverter (MMI) with switched capacitors, a Harris hawk optimization (HHO) was used in this study. Utilizing symmetric and identical DC sources, the suggested modular multilevel inverter is designed. The suggested topology may be expanded up to many levels and utilizes fewer switches to provide 9 levels of output than conventi1al cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters. Using a low-frequency switching control approach known as selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation, the switches are less stressed and the inverter output's THD profile is improved. Additionally, the switching angles of the MMI have been optimized by solving the non-linear equations of the SHEPWM using the Harris Hawk Optimizer. Ant colony optimization (ACO) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), two alternative optimizers, were compared in terms of the THD of the output. This comparison shows that the HHO delivers a lower THD than other optimization techniques approximately near to 5%, as per the IEEE-519 standard, and is thus more highly advised. Finally, a hardware configuration for the suggested inverter is implemented to confirm the simulation findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-level inverters are the most basic kind of multi-level inverter (MLIs). Total harmonic distortion diminishes as the number of output levels is increased. In classic MLI topologies, more electronic components are utilized to get higher-level outputs, which raises the cost, complexity, and volume of typical MLI installations. By reducing the use of power components, overall costs can be reduced. Further, the two and three-level inverters produce constant dv/dt output, which increases the stress on the power switches. This research proposed an asymmetric MLI topology that is suitable for PV applications and utilizes a minimum number of components. A selective harmonic elimination-based pulse width modulation (SHEPWM) is implemented for the proposed inverter to eliminate the lower-order dominant harmonics. The non-linear transcendental equations produced by the SHEPWM are solved for the switching angles of the proposed inverter using the Newton-Raphson approach. The performance of the inverter is analyzed based on the THD of output for different operating levels of the inverter. In this research, the NR method yielded a THD of 7.3% at a 0.9 modulation index. Also, the proposed inverter is applied to grid-connected solar PV systems for the analysis of THD. T The THD of the grid voltage is measured as 0.06% and the THD of the grid current is 4.8% with the proposed inverter which is acceptable as per the IEEE519 standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent Advancements in the semiconductor technology leads to the use of Silicon Carbide (SiC) materials in the design of power switches due to its wide band gap that performs superior compared to conventional Silicon material. Nevertheless, the cost of manufacturing IGBT with the SiC material is of major concern. Hence, this article proposes a hybrid Si-SiC based IGBT to improve the performance and reliability. The hybrid Si-SiC IGBT consist of Si-IGBT with SiC Feedback Diode. A test case of 600V/30A hybrid Switch (Si-IGBT (IGW30N60H3)/SiC-diode (C3D20060D)) is considered and implemented on a 3 kW PV inverter. Mission Profile oriented reliability analysis is carried out using PLECS thermal model at two different atmospheric conditions and its effectiveness is evaluated in comparison with conventional Si IGBT. Monte Carlo simulation is implemented to calculate the B10 lifetime. The population size of 10000 with 5 % variation is considered. The improved B10 lifetime and reliability with the proposed hybrid Si-SiC IGBT is obtained at both India and Denmark locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades intense demand for energy increases the utilization of Photovoltaic (PV) energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. Today’s PV energy shares a significant electricity demand with the advancements in power electronic technologies. Nevertheless, reliability performance of PV system is a major concern. Environmental conditions like mission profile (Solar Irradiance; Ambient Temperature), installation location impacts the performance of PV system. Researchers reported PV inverter as the critical component of PV system. Furthermore, reliability assessment of PV inverter considering environmental conditions is needed for the reliable operation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is evaluating the impact of mission profile on reliability (lifetime) of PV. To accomplish this, a 3-kW single phase grid connected PV system with full bridge PV inverter is considered as test case and modelled in PLECS. A 600V/30A IGBT from leading manufacturer is considered as power electronic switch in PV inverter. Top ten countries of PV market are identified and selected as installation locations, real time mission profile for one year at each installation location is considered. With this mission profile reliability assessment of PV inverter is carried out on test case. The results reveal that mission profile have considerable impact on reliability performance of PV inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical energy of a hydrogen-oxygen reaction is converted directly into dc electrical energy by fuel cells (FC). PEMFCs (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells) are a feasible alternative for electrical transportation and stationary applications. This paper presented a PEMFC modelling approach using Artificial Intelligence. The main objective of this research is to build a model of an 18w Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell and test its performance under different hydrogen pressure conditions. The physical model of the 18W hydrogen fueled PEM fuel cell is designed and tested at BHEL R&D. Additionally, a method for predicting a PEMFC's operating temperature using the voltage and current measures is suggested and successfully tested. However, the proposed technique is validated using experimental data from an 18W fuel cell. The analytical data and testing procedures required for determining the parameter values used in the proposed model are specified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposed a new topology of a symmetric single-phase multilevel inverter with the smaller number of semiconductor switches and optimized low-frequency control methods to optimize the Total Harmonic Distortion. A nine-level single phase output is obtained by eight number of active semiconductor switches, four diodes and four capacitors from two asymmetrical dc sources. The selected harmonic order in the output voltage is eliminated by the PWM (SHE-PWM) based on selective harmonic elimination. To optimize the switching angles, an ant colony optimization is introduced. The proposed SHE-PWM and ant optimization are implemented and tested for THD on the SIMULINK platform. The proposed approach offers less THD and is best suited to high-power applications with medium voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a variety of contemporary optimization techniques inspired by the real life in nature. Optimization reveals substantial developments in computing systems as well as has come to be the most encouraging strategy for several design applications. The study is conducted on single-objective, multi-objective, and hybrid optimization strategies. These optimization schemes will be of excellent help to organizations to identify optimum criteria and to improve process as well as product high quality. For selected optimization strategies, the process of formulating the objective function/stiffness function for a minimal issue exists. Over the last few years, the most combinatoric problems of all traditional optimization approaches were solved by using metaheuristic algorithms to have optimal solutions for real-time applications. This paper discussed some of the important and feasible optimization scheme and the related algorithms and approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]