Application of Power Electronic Transformer
in High Power Converter Based systems
Abstract Power Electronic
Transformers (PET) offer the ad-
vantage of size and weight reduction
compared to line frequency
transformers by operating at much
higher frequencies than line frequency.
The PET offers bidirectional power ow
between single phase AC and DC. Such
a system may nd applications in
interfacing plug-in hybrid and electric
vehicles to the grid, [1] which includes
railway traction systems and operated
at 15 kV/16.7 Hz application. By
comparing PET and conventional line
frequency trans- former (LFT)-based
systems, their pros and cons are sum-
marized. [2] The modular multilevel
converter structure is used in the
medium-voltage side to meet the high-
voltage requirements and to reduce the
dv/dt stress on the medium frequency
transformer. [3]. Due to low cost, high
efficiency and reliable operations, now a
days LFTs are replaced by PETs, in
high power application.
Introduction
Using Power Electronic Transformers
(PET) in recent application will reduced
size and weight over line frequency
transformers, along with advanced features
such as controlled power ow etc.
Advances in semiconductor technology
they are coming closer to being viable in
practical applications. They can be used in
a variety of applications requiring galvanic
isolation and connection of systems at
different voltage levels and control of
power ow. One of the promising
applications of PET is the integration of
renewable energy sources to the grid and
the AC load. Most of these renewable
resources such as PV or fuel cells are
available in the form of DC. Hence, an
isolated single phase AC to DC inverter an
integral part of PET.
The one of the most popular and widely
used ways for massive public
transportation in railway traction. The
modern developing trends toward high
speed, distributed propulsion by electrical
multiple units (EMU) and increased
passenger comfort require traction systems
with higher efciency, lower weight, and
volume. One of the major obstructs is the
conventional line frequency transformer
(LFT). LFTs are bulky and heavy due to
the nature of low operating frequency even
with its efciency being greatly
compromised to increase the power
density. On the other hand, high-frequency
concept has been widely used for various
low power applications to signicantly
reduce the volumes of transformers,
inductors, and capacitors and hence
achieve much higher power density [1],
[2]. Power electronic transformer (PET)
concept is developed many years ago [3]
[5]. With the advancements on power
electronics devices and soft magnetic
materials, PETs based on medium
operating frequency provide a new
solution to achieve better
system performance for various high-
power applications, such as smart grid [6]
[23], renewable energies [24][33], battery
charging [34][37], and railway traction.
The early PET-based railway traction
concepts can be found in [38][41]. Since
then various PET concepts have been
developed. In 2012, it has a breakthrough
when ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB)
successfully tested its PET-based traction
system on a locomotive in Switzerland
[42], [43]. PET-based traction system is
widely recognized as the future of railway
tractions. Hence, it is necessary to carry
out a comprehensive review on the PET
railway traction systems.