Multilevel power converter for a fault-tolerant aircraft

Abstract

Multilevel power converter (1) for an aircraft, comprising at least one conversion module delivering one electrical phase, the conversion module comprising n switching arms (B1, B2, B3, B4) in parallel, n being an integer at least equal to 2, the arms being controlled by means of an interleaved control, each arm (B1, B2, B3, B4) supplying a portion (i1, i2, i3, i4) of the output current (is), each switching arm (B1, B2, B3, B4) comprising a coupled inductor (a, b, c, d) having a primary winding (a1, b1, c1, d1) connected to the arm (B1, B2, B3, B4) to which the coupled inductor (a, b, c, d) is connected, and a secondary winding (a2, b2, c2, d2), which is magnetically coupled to the primary winding (a1, b1, c1, d1) of said coupled inductance, and connected with the secondary winding of at least one other coupled inductance. Figure 1

Claims

5. Power converter (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a plurality of conversion modules, each conversion module delivering a different electrical phase at output.

6. Power converter (1) according to claim 5, wherein the isolation device (11) of a first arm (B1) of a first conversion module is common to each first arm of each conversion module, and the short-circuit device (12) of the secondary winding (a2) of the coupled inductance (a) of the first arm (B1) of the first conversion module is common to each secondary winding of the coupled inductance of the first arm of each conversion module.

7. Method of operating a power converter (1) according to any one of claims 5 or 6, comprising: - A detection step in which the arm (B4) having an electrical fault is detected and defined as a faulty arm; - A safety step in which the isolation device (41) and the short-circuit device (42) of the faulty arm (B4) are respectively put in the open and closed positions.

8. A method of operation according to the preceding claim, further comprising a step of reconfiguring the interleaved control so as to take into account the faulty arm (B4). [Fig. 2]

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