Analysis of switching frequency on performance of motor drive based on silicon carbide mosfet

Many recent studies have demonstrated the strengths of wide-bandgap semiconductor devices in power converters operating at high switching frequency. However, thesuitable switching frequency for motor drive employing such devices remains a challenge due to the complicated problem involving types of electric motors, operating speed, current, voltage, power, fundamental frequency, as well as characteristics of power switches. This has not been studied extensively. In this paper, with simulation, experimentand proper methodology, the quality of the output electromagnetic torque of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) driven by a silicon carbide (SiC)-based inverter is evaluated. From the analysis and the empirical results, it is found that the rangebetween 20 kHz to 40 kHz would be the suitable switching frequency for SiC power devices for PMSM drives to achieve better performance. © 2020, Chinese Institute of Electrical Engineering. All rights reserved.