Advanced Thermal Management for Power Electronics
Design of an integrated liquid cooling system for high-power-density converters achieving 200W/cm2 heat dissipation.
Role
Thermal Design Engineer
Client
Internal R&D Project
Duration
8 months
Year
2023
Technologies
- ✓200W/cm2 heat dissipation capability
- ✓Junction temperature < 125°C at full load
- ✓40% improvement over baseline design
- ✓Integrated pump and reservoir design
Thermal management is critical for achieving high power density in modern power electronics. This project developed an advanced liquid cooling solution capable of dissipating heat fluxes up to 200W/cm2 while maintaining junction temperatures within safe operating limits.
Design Approach
CFD-Driven Optimization
Extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to optimize the cold plate geometry, including:
- Microchannel configurations
- Pin-fin arrays
- Jet impingement zones
Thermal Interface Materials
Evaluation and selection of high-performance TIMs achieving thermal conductivity > 5 W/mK with minimal bond line thickness.
Manufacturing
The cold plates were manufactured using selective laser melting (SLM) allowing complex internal geometries impossible with conventional machining. This additive manufacturing approach enabled:
- Conformal cooling channels
- Integrated manifolds
- Reduced assembly complexity