This project was developed independently by me as part of my work on EV power electronics test systems. It focuses on the design and implementation of an inverter test rig, covering aspects such as control, measurement, and safe operation of high-voltage systems. The project demonstrates my approach to building practical test environments for validating inverter performance and behaviour under realistic operating conditions.
Arrival Inverter Test Rig, Two 100 kW electric dive units connected with a short prop shaft
The Inverter motor test rig was designed to be used inside the Arrival Semi-Anechoic chamber to allow for the early-stage R&D testing of the 800 VDC Arrival Inverters. It was fitted with two 100 kW electric dive units connected with a short prop shaft; each was driven by an inverter mounted to the leg of the rig. There are two breakout boxes mounted on the enclosure, one per motor, allowing each motor to be connected to an external inverter.
The rig was also capable of use in design validation and pre-compliance testing, which allowed for reduced cost and increased R&D development cycle, as small incremental changes could be tested back-to-back without needing to re-book external lab time.
Each motor could be either driven or put into regenerative mode, allowing for the external inverter under test on the EMC bench to be tested in all of the possible driving modes, and at a range of power levels.
Cooling water was circulated through the two sets in parallel. Additional shielding and ferrite tiles could be mounted on a wooden board, masking the inverter not under test as required. The power and CAN data to the inverters would be taken below the SAC floor to feedthroughs and out to the control room.
Automotive cables and connectors were used throughout to ensure safety from risks that the hazardous voltages and high currents involved were kept isolated from people and other testing hardware. The shields of the cables were terminated via 360-degree metal grommet to ensure good shielding effectiveness to contain emissions, ensuring that the motors and non-test inverter did not contribute to the measurements being performed.
Earth bonding points were provided to ensure equipotential bonding of the metal-work to the SAC floor for safety.