Protection from Indirect Lightning Effects for Power Converters in Avionic Environment: Modelling and Experimental Validation

This paper focuses on a protection system from lightning indirect effects applicable to power converters for avionic applications. The case-study considered in this paper is a DC-DC PWM Buck-Boost converter protected by a metal oxide varistor and a series inductive blocking element. The converter is investigated when operated a) in normal operating conditions, b) under lightning indirect strokes without protection, and c) under lightning indirect strokes with protection. A numerical model of the system based on a finite-difference-time-domain scheme is proposed. Validation of the system is performed through a comparison with experimental measurements and alternative numerical modeling techniques, showing the effectiveness of the blocking system and the accuracy of the proposed model.