Fault-Tolerant Radiation-Aware Modular Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Aerospace Surface Power Management

Date: 23/07/2026

Time: 9:00 am

Presenter: Pedram Chavoshipour Heris

Abstract: (Sponsored by TC 11) The electrification of aerospace platforms has intensified the need for efficient, reliable, and fault-tolerant power conversion systems capable of operating in radiation-intensive environments. This webinar presents the design, modelling, verification, and reliability assessment of a radiation-aware, modular, bidirectional isolated DC-DC converter for Surface Power Management and Distribution applications. The proposed architecture uses a modular configuration to enable distributed power processing, improve scalability, eliminate power-stage single points of failure, and support fault isolation with degraded-mode operation. Stable power sharing and robust operation under abnormal conditions are key design objectives. Both Gallium Nitride and β-Gallium Oxide power semiconductor technologies are considered for their high-frequency switching capability, high power density, wide-bandgap advantages, and potential suitability for aerospace power conversion. A central focus of this webinar is the converter’s fault-tolerant capability. Radiation effects, including Single Event Upsets, parametric shifts, leakage-current increase, and transient conduction anomalies, are treated as stochastic fault sources that can disturb power devices, sensors, gate drivers, controllers, and communication links. To address these risks, protection and fault-tolerance mechanisms are integrated at the converter level rather than relying only on individual component hardening. The proposed design combines fault detection, isolation, protective control actions, modular redundancy, and degraded-mode operation to prevent radiation-induced disturbances from escalating into catastrophic failure. Multi-domain verification through simulation, thermal modelling, radiation fault injection, prototyping, and hardware-in-the-loop validation demonstrates a scalable, efficient, and radiation-tolerant converter architecture suitable for next-generation aerospace electrification platforms.

Pedram Chavoshipour Heris is a Research Scholar (Assistant) with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, where he works on high-frequency power conversion systems at the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission. He is also an Assistant Teaching Professor with Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS, USA. His research and teaching interests include power electronics, high-frequency dc–dc converters, modular and bidirectional power conversion, wide-bandgap semiconductor applications, thermal management, magnetics design, electric transportation, and fault-tolerant power systems for aerospace and energy applications. He was previously with The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. He has received fellowship recognition from both The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arkansas. His industry experience includes work as a Power Electronics Engineering Intern with Garrett Advancing Motion, Torrance, CA, USA, where he contributed to electric-vehicle cooling inverter development. His technical work focuses on the design, modeling, control, and experimental validation of reliable power conversion systems for demanding operating environments. His recent interests include modular converter architectures, radiation-aware and fault-tolerant converter design, three-port converters, and solid-state transformers. He served as a Technical Dialogue Session Chair at APEC 2026 in San Antonio, TX, USA. He was also a member of the team that won first place in the international aerospace power electronics design challenge in March 2026, where the team developed a fault-tolerant dc–dc converter architecture for aerospace environments and received recognition for outstanding oral presentation.