Building SCAPE’s integrated inverter/on-board charger mock-up
![DALL·E 2024-01-02 12.53.51 – A mock-up of an integrated inverter_on-board charger for electric vehicles. The device is sleek, modern, and compact, featuring advanced technology co](https://www.scapepower.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/DALL·E-2024-01-02-12.53.51-A-mock-up-of-an-integrated-inverter_on-board-charger-for-electric-vehicles.-The-device-is-sleek-modern-and-compact-featuring-advanced-technology-co.png)
SCAPE follows an iterative process for the design of the power converter prototypes, consisting of two main steps. First, a mock-up low-power version of the integrated inverter/on-board charger (IIOBC) is developed, in order to validate the switching-cell and converter-leg circuits, the online monitoring systems, basic controls, as well as a preliminary version of the advanced controls. After mock-up validation is done, the development of the final converter prototypes is performed, in order to validate the chip-embedded power converters and the definitive control strategies.
IREC is currently developing the mock-up IIOBC hardware, following a reduced power and number of legs, as seen in Figure 1. The mock-up IIOBC will be tested in an emulated environment, that is, with dc and ac power sources acting as the EV battery and motor, respectively, thanks to the control provided by a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) unit, integrating a comprehensive electrical model of both elements. Moreover, the mock-up prototype will be built with conventional power semiconductors in a discrete package (TO-247) and will integrate liquid cooling with a cold plate, ensuring a very compact design, as shown in Figure 2.