Fault tolerant inverter topology for the sustainable drive of an electrical helicopter

The paper describes the results of the system analysis of various options of electric inverter topologies for the use in the traction drive of an electrical helicopter. The paper explains the optimal choice, in terms of the design requirements and future operational conditions, and the type and topology of the electric inverter to supply the traction permanent magnet synchronous motor with the batteries. The main focus has been set on the study of the overload capacity, thermal behavior, and the fault tolerance of the multilevel electric inverter. In order to estimate these parameters, the Markov models of the multi-state system's reliability evaluation were used.