A medium voltage printed circuit board-based dc bus is presented, current carrying capacity and short circuit insulation integrity. This bus is an integral part of a 6 kV 500 kW modular power converter. The partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) was 10.5 kV peak. To ensure insulation reliability while operating at 83.3 A rms, current distribution among via-in-pads is optimized using Ansys Maxwell 3D. Thermal analysis is performed in Ansys Icepak to verify hotspots are controlled. Short circuit tests are performed with current up to 4.8 kA. The PDIV checked subsequently to assess the insulation integrity of the PCB-based planar bus.
