Application of phase-shifted full-bridge soft-switch technology in suspension chopper

Abstract

Suspension chopper is a high-power electrical equipment which controls the suspension state of maglev train. Its performance directly determines the stability and safety of maglev train. However, the traditional suspension chopper has the problem of high voltage spikes of IGBT and load, which poses a threat to the safe operation of high-speed maglev train. In order to solve this problem, this paper designs a phase-shifted full-bridge suspension chopper, which only adds an auxiliary circuit and four parallel capacitors. The soft-switch is realized by using the phase-shifted control signals, so as to reduce the voltage spikes. Compared with other voltage spike suppression methods, the method has the advantages of good suppression of voltage spikes, simple circuit structure, less use of components, and insensitive to component parameters. The performance of the designed circuit is simulated by ANSYS Simplorer, and verified by experimental test platform. The simulation and experimental results show that the phase-shifted full-bridge suspension chopper can greatly reduce voltage spikes of the load and IGBT.