Probabilistic evaluation of power converters as support in their design

Abstract

In this study, a procedure to evaluate the performance of a power converter under different operating conditions is presented. The technique takes into account the effect of the environmental conditions and the tolerance on each component and it provides a probability estimation that the converter will reach certain performance under definite operating condition. This feature allows to better understand the operation of the converter even outside the nominal operating conditions. Furthermore, by appropriately modelling the performance of each component, it is possible to understand from the early design stages which component technology is more suitable according to the environment in which the converter will work. The steps of the procedure are explained in detail and a case study applied on a Class-E inverter to provide a step-by-step explanation and to experimentally validate the accuracy of the probability estimation is presented.