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Towards hight voltage levels in electric machines for aviation

Abstract

For electric rotating machines to become a viable large-scale option in aviation, increased power density is needed – without challenging the reliability. Fast and efficient SiC-based converters with increased switching frequency, slew rate, and higher voltage, is a part of the toolbox to achieve this. As voltage increases, a regime where partial discharges (PD) can occur in the insulation approaches, decreasing lifetime and reliability. When testing insulation systems where PD can occur, lifetime estimates are based on extrapolation of experiments conducted with sinusoidal voltages, only valid for a narrow range of parameters. In this work, electrical and mechanical characterization for a candidate insulation system is initiated, including accelerated degradation tests. Preliminary results show that PD under SiC-converter like voltages are much more severe than sinusoidal voltage at same level and frequency and reduces lifetime significantly. Keywords—Type II insulation, electrical machine, partial discharges, voltage endurance, higher power and voltage level
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Category

Non-fiction chapter

Language

English

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Energy Research / Elkraftteknologi

Year

2025

Publisher

TSAS

Book

Towards Sustainable Aviation Summit - TSAS 2025 - online proceedings

ISBN

9780000000019

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository