C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter

Jang, Seohee; Chae, Hyeongyo; Roh, Chan

doi:10.3390/jmse14020221

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C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter

by

Seohee Jang

,

Hyeongyo Chae

and

Chan Roh

^*

Division of Maritime System Engineering, Korea Maritime & Ocean University, Busan 49112, Republic of Korea

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14(2), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020221

Submission received: 15 December 2025 / Revised: 19 January 2026 / Accepted: 19 January 2026 / Published: 21 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Energy with Advanced Propulsion Systems for Net-Zero Shipping)

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Abstract

This paper presents a controller-hardware-in-the-loop simulation (C-HILS) framework for validating models, evaluating control performance, and assessing the thermal lifetime of a tens-of-kilowatt inverter. The real inverter and the C-HILS platform were operated in parallel, and accuracy was quantified using phase-current root mean square error, voltage spectral analysis, and total harmonic distortion (THD). Across a wide range of SVPWM and DPWM cases, deviations remained within 2–5%, confirming close agreement between experiment and simulation. Using the validated C-HILS system, sampling frequency and output power were swept while comparing current tracking, THD, average switching frequency, semiconductor losses, and efficiency. SVPWM achieved lower THD, whereas DPWM reduced average switching frequency and switching losses, improving efficiency. C-HILS waveforms were then applied to a Foster thermal network to reconstruct the junction–temperature trajectory; T_j(t), and ΔT_jand T_j,min were mapped to lifetime using the Bayerer model. For a representative cyclic mission, ΔT_j decreased from approximately 25.6 °C with SVPWM to about 17.5 °C with DPWM, increasing the estimated lifetime from approximately 1.36 years to 9.14 years. These results demonstrate that the proposed C-HILS framework provides a unified pre-prototype tool for model verification, control strategy comparison, and quantitative thermal reliability assessment of shipboard propulsion inverters.

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jang, S.; Chae, H.; Roh, C. C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2026, 14, 221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020221

AMA Style

Jang S, Chae H, Roh C. C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2026; 14(2):221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020221

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jang, Seohee, Hyeongyo Chae, and Chan Roh. 2026. "C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 14, no. 2: 221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020221

APA Style

Jang, S., Chae, H., & Roh, C. (2026). C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 14(2), 221. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse14020221

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C-HILS-Based Evaluation of Control Performance, Losses, and Thermal Lifetime of a Marine Propulsion Inverter

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