Abstract
A predictive health and control system performs Dynamic Health Tracking for power electronics and energy storage components within high-ambient HVAC infrastructure. The system polls real-time thermal telemetry and operating parameters from internal components — including DC bus capacitors, insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), and variable frequency drives (VFDs) — as well as indirect thermal proxies (such as cabinet ambient air, outdoor yard ambient, cooling fan status, carrier switching frequency, and DC bus voltage ripple) at established intervals. Using this telemetry, an integrated controller or an analytics engine applies a time-integrated cumulative thermal-stress degradation function (such as an Arrhenius reaction rate equation, Eyring model, or empirical wear matrix) to calculate cumulative chemical and thermal degradation and generate a live component health score. The system evaluates the live Health Score against a multi-tiered threshold framework (comprising advisory, mild preservation, and critical preservation tiers). When a threshold is crossed, the controller automatically engages a corresponding preservation mode that executes specific physical control actions — such as reducing VFD carrier switching frequency, overdriving cabinet cooling fans, drifting chilled water supply temperature setpoints, triggering adiabatic pre-cooling systems, or applying hard compressor power/RPM caps — to reduce internal thermal stress. This proactive control action extends the remaining operational life of the power electronics, preventing catastrophic dielectric failure or thermal runaway and creating a manageable window for scheduled maintenance without causing unplanned cooling outages.
Keywords: Dynamic Component Health Tracking, power electronics degradation, DC bus capacitors, IGBT inverter reliability, Arrhenius lifecycle modeling, multi-sensor thermal fusion, multi-tiered preservation modes, predictive maintenance, VFD carrier frequency reduction, adiabatic pre-cooling, air-cooled chiller, high-ambient environment, HVAC infrastructure
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
N/A, "Dynamic Health Tracking and Automated Preservation Control System for Power Electronics and High-Ambient HVAC Infrastructure", Technical Disclosure Commons, ()
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/12353