Program Overview

Power Electronics Reliability Program

Introduction

Power electronics have been and will continue to be an enabling technology for energy production, storage, transmission, distribution, and consumption. In addition, power electronic converters are usually the critical links in electrical energy systems, affecting system security, safety, energy efficiency, and cost-of-ownership. As a result, the reliability requirements for power electronic components and converter systems generally become more stringent, for example, in e-mobility, renewable energy generation, and power system applications.

Course Description

This short course will discuss the state-of-the-art research outcomes and industry practices on power electronics reliability. The basic concepts and methodologies introduced in this course may also be applicable to engineering fields other than power electronics. Primarily, the course will focus on the following aspects:

• Introduction to modern reliability and robustness approach
• Reliability testing methods and testing data analysis
• Long-term wear out and single-event abnormal operation of active power modules and capacitors
• Design tools and reliability analysis of power electronic systems
• Condition monitoring and operation optimization of power electronic components and converters

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, the participant expects to achieve the following goals:

• Understand the key definitions, metrics, pitfalls, and practices in reliability engineering
• Understand both quantitative and qualitative reliability testing methods and their applications in power electronics
• Have in-depth knowledge of crucial power electronic components' failure modes and mechanisms, such as power semiconductor modules and capacitors
• Master the reliability analysis framework and be able to apply it for power electronic components and converter applications
• Understand condition and health monitoring methods and their application for power electronic applications

Target Audience

The course is open to university students and industry engineers.

Course Outline

Day 1

Module Name: Introduction to power electronics, reliability engineering, and power electronic component failure Learning Outcome:

1. Students will be able to understand the key reliability definitions, reliability metrics, pitfalls of different reliability approaches, and state-of-the-art practices in reliability engineering
2. Students will be able to perform failure mode and failure effects, and failure cause analysis based on the FMEA method using power electronic components as the examples

Day 2

Module Name: Reliability testing and data analysis Learning Outcome:

1. Students will be able to plan for reliability testing by determining the sample size, stress level, and expected testing time
2. Students will be able to analyze time-to-failure testing data by using Weibull analysis and obtain lifetime models

Day 3

Module Name: Lifetime modeling and design for reliability of power electronic components and converters Learning Outcome:

1. Students will be able to predict the lifetime of power semiconductor modules and capacitors under dynamic operation conditions
2. Students will be able to apply a reliability-oriented design approach to size key components of power electronic converters to fulfill a specific reliability requirement

Day 4

Module Name: Condition and health monitoring and AI for power electronics reliability Learning Outcome:

1. Students will be able to identify key health indicators and find methods to obtain them for the condition and health monitoring of power semiconductors and capacitors
2. Students will be able to describe the key challenges in condition and health monitoring for practical power electronic converter operations
3. Students will be able to define reliability aspect problems and identify the proper AI algorithms to address the problems

Day 5

Module Name: Mini-project group presentation and feedback, course wrap-up

1. Students will be able to demonstrate the mini-project results and present them effectively

Assessments

The course will be assessed based on course participation, mini-project and presentation, and quiz.

• Course participation: 40 points
• Course mini-project and presentation: 30 points
• Course quiz: 30 points

Online Activities

The course will be conducted in a hybrid mode, open to university students and industry engineers. It expects there will be online participants attending the lectures synchronously with students who take the course on-site. Asynchronous activities include:

1. Students will be grouped (2-4 students per group) to work on a mini-project during the course
2. Students will be provided a list of state-of-the-art references as reading materials before the course