MULTILEVEL CONVERTER ARRANGEMENT AND USE THEREOF

摘要

The present invention is concerned with the provision of the necessary power to the gate-drives controlling the semiconductor devices of a multilevel converter used in railway traction applications. A power loop with a power-loop emitter and a power-loop receptor located in different housings and connected via a power-loop conductor that is at least partially exterior to both housings is proposed. By means of a current transformer inductively coupling the conductor to the emitter or receptor, the power-loop also provides for electrical insulation between the emitter and the receptor. The fact that emitter and receptor are distant from each other offers greater flexibility in the positioning and design of the galvanic separation between the emitter and the receptor or the supplied gate-drive, respectively. In particular, the local voltages of converter levels ranging up to the supply voltage of e.g. 21 kV RMS of the multilevel converter can thus be insulated from the global earth potential of the power-loop emitter. Several power-loop receptors can be coupled to the same power-loop conductor and. thus fed by the same power-loop emitter.