Reliability Analysis of Fast Electric Vehicle Charging Systems

To improve electric vehicle (EV) uptake, fast charging systems must be widely deployed. However, fast EV charging mission profiles expose power electronic components to extremely high-power stresses within short periods of time. Consequently, power electronic components in fast EV charging systems are expected to degrade/wear-out at a faster rate, requiring frequent replacement within the lifespan of the charging system. It is, therefore, important to both design and build fast EV charging systems with a known level of reliability. This paper proposes a model to investigate the reliability of fast EV charging systems. Using the model, the reliability of a typical fast EV charging system is analyzed, and results are presented to show how the lifetime and reliability of semiconductor switches used in fast EV charging systems can be predicted, even under widely varying mission profiles.