A Novel Bidirectional DC/AC Stacked Matrix Converter Design for Electrified Vehicle Applications

In the rapidly growing field of electrified transportation technology, hybrid electric and electric vehicle (HEV/EV) manufacturers have been placing increasing demands on the designers to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of vehicle components to sustain a niche in the EV market. To understand the significance and challenges in an efficient and economical drivetrain design, this paper presents a part of an ongoing project that aims at developing a comprehensive study on dc/ac drive motor technology in EV applications. In this paper, a new three-level three-phase matrix converter topology, along with two conventional frequently used three-level three-phase dc/ac converter topologies, namely, diode-clamped and H-bridge converters, are implemented. Furthermore, comprehensive analysis and comparative studies are conducted to examine the performance and efficiency of these converter topologies according to EV design criteria. In addition, experimental investigations are carried out on the aforementioned converter configurations to help EV designers choose the most suitable converter topology.