Thermal management for inverters in the electric vehicle powertrain system

With the growing adoption of electric vehicles, their safety and reliability have attracted widespread attention. As a critical component of the electric vehicle powertrain system, the inverter operates for extended periods under varying working conditions, resulting in a high thermal load on the insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), which significantly shortens its service life. To address this issue, the thermal management of the inverter should be investigated in the context of the overall powertrain system and in coordination with the operating state of the motor. In this study, a decoupling control method for inverter thermal management is proposed. However, the inverter thermal management system is characterized by a high degree of coupling, large time delays, and numerous sources of system interference. To mitigate these challenges, a decoupling analysis of the system is conducted, and an active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) is employed to compensate for system disturbances. This approach avoids the influence of unknown factors, eliminates the need to develop an accurate mathematical model, and enhances the robustness and adaptability of the thermal management system, thereby effectively improving its cooling performance.