Advanced design tools for the reliability of power electronics — Case studies on a photovoltaic (PV) system

In many important energy conversion systems, the power electronic converters are proven to have high failure rates. At the same time, the failures of the power electronics systems are becoming more and more unacceptable because of the high cost of failures and booming power capacity. As a consequence, an appropriate assessment of reliability performance for the power electronics is a crucial and emerging need, because it is the essential information for the design improvements as well as for the extension of converter lifetime, and reduction of the cost-of-energy. Unfortunately, there is still lack of suitable and cost-effective tools for the reliability assessment in power electronics. In this paper, an advanced design tool structure, which can acquire various reliability metrics of the power converters, is proposed. The proposed reliability design tool is based on the failure mechanisms in the critical components of the power electronics system, and the mission profiles in the converter applications are also taken into account. Finally, the potential methodologies, challenges and technology trends involved in this tool structure are also discussed.