Abstract
Reliable and unceasing exploitation of power electronic converters plays a major part in numerous applications. The aging effects on the performance of a dc-dc boost power converter with different thermal structures are under consideration in this study. This article demonstrates the feasibility of using sensitivity analysis for a much more accurate estimation of the power converters' performances. This article deals with a dc-dc boost converter as a case study in two thermal structures (coupled and decoupled) for electric vehicle application. Significant self and reciprocal effects of components can immensely affect the reliability assessment in thermal coupled structures. It reveals that the useful lifetime of the insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and the diode can decrease by 35% and 44%, respectively. In thermal decoupled structures, there are no significant reciprocal effects either in electrical or thermal operating points (EOP/TOP). The results reveal the importance of reciprocal aging and self-aging effects on the reliability assessment in coupled thermal structures.