AirSiC – A Silicon-Carbide based Air-Cooled Traction Inverter is the Enabler for a Simplified, Distributed Powertrain System in a Passenger Vehicle

Abstract:
The electrification of the powertrain is not only the key for the elimination of the local emissions and the CO2 reduction, but also the trigger for new body and interior concepts in a passenger vehicle. Therefore, highest flexibility at placing vehicle system components is required: The powertrain system shall be modular, consume little space and being easy to apply in in various locations in the vehicle. This flexibility in size and point of installation requires a low number of electrical, hydraulic and mechanical connections. For the example of an in-wheel- or rear-axle-traction inverter, cooling remains a major challenge and causes high efforts for the front radiator and cooling pipes across the whole vehicle. Those system elements stand in contradiction to the targets above and should be eliminated: Therefore, the Silicon Carbide [SiC] based, air-cooled traction inverter has been built and tested for a mid-sized passenger vehicle. This paper describes the inverter’s electrical and thermal concept, the first test results and provides an outlook to the proposed next steps.