| Paper | Title | Page |
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| WEPMS026 | Improved Tuning Methods for Converter-Modulators | 2391 |
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Funding: This work is supported by the office of Basic Energy Sciences and the Office of Science of the Department of Energy The converter-modulator is a resonant power conditioning configuration that is optimized for a particular load impedance or parameter space. Although traction motor IGBT's are typically used for hard-switching application in the 1 kHz regime, the present use of high-power (10 - 15 MW) converter-modulators have used a 20 kHz resonant switching topology. This presents design challenges to maintain efficient and reliable switching characteristics for the IGBT's. Improved tuning methods and circuit topological changes now offer a significant reduction in IGBT switching losses as compared to those used with the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) design (perhaps by 10). These circuit and topology changes should also permit Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) of the modulator output voltage to provide a regulated voltage without anomalous IGBT switching characteristics. This paper will review the results of this investigation based on models developed from the SNS converter-modulator operational data. |