Application-Oriented Reliability Testing of Power Electronic Components and Converters

Power electronics have been and will continue to be an enabling technology for energy production, storage, transmission, distribution, and consumption. 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. Testing is one of the vital reliability engineering tools to investigate failure mechanisms, identify weakest points, and demonstrate robustness margins. It contributes to reliability growth along the product development process and the likelihood of failure reduction in field operation. The required resources (i.e., testing time, sample size, and testing facility) and the relevance of the testing results to field operation are two crucial considerations in implementing a reliability test. This article introduces the emerging application-oriented testing concepts and facilities through several component-level and converter-level examples.