The Choice of the Main Power Components in Electric Traction Converters

The choice of the power components of the electric traction converters for autonomous vehicles is a very important aspect in their design. The attention in this paper is first focused on the choice of the DC link capacitor, followed by choice of the IGBT modules, their testing and cooling. Then, the choice of power cables is approached. A dedicated test bench for electric traction converters for autonomous vehicles was designed and achieved. In defining the parameters of the test bench, various possible applications on battery-powered vehicles were taken into account, but also their performances, technical characteristics and functional characteristics. An important share belongs to the integrated propulsion/charging system of the Li-Ion battery developed by the company SC INDA SRL. It is already used in automotive on full-electric trucks and in the battery-powered electric locomotives.