For many years, standards such as AEC-Q101 and the “test-to-pass” method were the only ways to enter automotive power electronics. But since the powertrain has become electric, these static qualification methods are no longer enough. Electric Vehicles (EVs) use high-voltage traction inverters that must handle changing thermal and electrical stresses not covered by standard industry […]
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Why isn’t scaling to heavy-duty EVs as simple as adding more voltage or battery capacity?
Scaling battery-electric vehicle (BEV) architectures for heavy-duty applications involves nonlinear variables that differ significantly from those in passenger vehicle development. Standard industry practices, such as increasing energy capacity through additional modules or raising system voltage, encounter physical and thermodynamic limits when applied to high-mass platforms. This FAQ examines the technical reasons why pack-level scaling is […]
What’s the Cannikin Law and how does it relate to GaN and SiC power converters?
The Cannikin Law, also called Liebig’s Law of the Minimum, states that growing adoption of new technology is not dictated by total resources, but by the scarcest limiting resource. It helps to explain the adoption trajectory and challenges of developing gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC) wide bandgap (WBG) power semiconductors and expanding their […]
What is the antiresonance effect in power supply capacitors?
The antiresonance effect can be a bug or a feature. In the case of DC link capacitors in high-frequency converters, it’s a bug that can decrease performance. But antiresonance in ultrasonic transducer power supplies is a feature used for efficient, stable power delivery under varying loads. Beyond the resonant frequency of a capacitor, parasitics in […]
How is power limiting the adoption of physical artificial intelligence in humanoid robotics?
Physical artificial intelligence (PAI) is enabling robotics to venture from the relatively safe and predictable operating environments of assembly lines and enter the unpredictable and dynamic world of humanoid robotics. Power presents a primary bottleneck for the proliferation of humanoid robotics. Energy availability and delivery systems, including power conversion and energy storage, are gating factors […]
How does the IEEE MagNet Challenge use AI for power magnetics modeling?
The IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) Google-Tesla MagNet Challenge is an annual competition. It’s designed to accelerate innovation in magnetic modeling using artificial intelligence (AI). This article reviews some of the highlights from the first two MagNet Challenges in 2023 and 2024. The first installment ran from February to December 2023, with the winners announced […]
How do ML and AI work in power conversion: part 2
This article digs into how machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) contribute to the optimization of green energy systems and electric vehicles (EVs). It looks at a few of the ways ML/AI enable designers to deploy dynamic models that learn from experience, and handle non-linearities and changing, complex conditions better than fixed algorithms. Part […]
How do ML and AI work in power conversion? part 1
The use of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) in power converters represents the latest development in the field of digital power. They are being used in advanced converter control schemes, performance monitors of electrolytic capacitors to support preventative maintenance, and power management systems to improve efficiency and enhance reliability. Part 2 will look […]
The difference between physical AI and machine learning in power electronics
Physical artificial intelligence (PAI) is the application of AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms to enable autonomous systems to interact with the physical world. ML is an internal software technique that allows systems to learn from data, while PAI refers to the external physical implementation of that intelligence. Traditional machine control (automation) follows fixed, pre-programmed […]
Breaking the 12-V bottleneck: the shift to 48-V power
The transition from 12-V to 48-V power distribution deals with efficiency, thermal management, and system architecture challenges in high-power applications. This article examines engineering concepts for transitioning from 12-V to 48-V power systems, with a particular emphasis on energy losses, modifications to server backplanes, and the implementation of zonal architectures. Q: Why is the industry […]
