ELEC4611-14-Lec 5 - Equipment Thermal Rating

ELEC4611: Equipment Thermal Rating p.
1
ELEC4611
Power System Equipment

EQUIPMENT THERMAL RATING

The thermal rating of electrical power equipment is
determined, in general, by the maximum permissible
operating temperatures of its components (usually the
insulation material which is the item most at risk of failure)
under the conditions at which the rating is to be
determined. As all electrical equipment generates heat in
its operation, the thermal rating is an important
characteristic of equipment. Thermal rating is determined
from thermal balance considerations of heat generation
and heat dissipation from equipment. In the following we
consider only steady state rating, which is determined from
a thermal balance equation at constant temperature. There
are many variations of transient ratings that can be
determined for loads that are not constant or not sustained
in their operation. These transient ratings will not be
considered here.

1. Heat Dissipation Mechanisms

The possible heat dissipation mechanisms are:
- Conduction.
- Convection.
- Radiation.

ELEC4611: Equipment Thermal Rating p.2
We usually try to determine a heat transfer coefficient, for
each loss mechanism, in watts per unit area of exposed
surface per degree of temperature rise above ambient:

i.e. h
i
[W/m
2
/
o
C]

We then use the sum of all of the contributing h
i

coefficients to determine the total heat loss at the
maximum permissible temperature using the appropriate
specified maximum temperature, the heat dissipation
surface area and the ambient temperature. Thus, in the case
with all three loss mechanisms in operation, the total heat
loss coefficient h
total
will be:

h
total
= h
cond
+ h
conv
+ h
rad

1.1 Enhancing dissipation

The dissipation mechanisms can be either natural or can be
intentionally enhanced.

For example in electrical equipment, convection
dissipation is frequently enhanced by the use of pumps or
fans to increase flow rates (of air, water or any other
appropriate cooling fluid) past surfaces. This has the effect
of increasing h
conv
. Power transformers use this method.
Additional enhancement can be achieved by increasing the
effective surface area presented to a cooling fluid flow.

Radiation loss can be enhanced by increasing radiative
emissivity of surfaces by painting them with matt black
paint for example or by simply increasing the surface area.
Conduction loss can be increased by using materials with
high thermal conductivity, although there are normally
considerable constraints on this as the materials may be
there for particular insulation purposes. Note that air and
most gases are very poor thermal conductors. Conduction
is generally the least efficient of the heat dissipation
processes, although in some cases such as cables, it is the
only available means of heat loss.

2. Heat Generation Mechanisms

The possible mechanisms by which heat is generated in
electrical equipment are:

- Ohmic heating in conductors.
- Eddy current heating.
- Electrical contacts
- Semiconductor junctions
- Iron losses - in steel cores, etc (including hysteresis
and eddy currents).
- Dielectric losses - in dielectric insulation.

Here, the first three heating mechanisms scale as I
2
, the
fourth scales as I, while the last two heating mechanisms
depend on the magnetic core flux density and the electric
field in the insulation respectively and as these two field
quantities are constant and independent of load, the iron
and dielectric losses are constant whenever the equipment
is energised.
Thus, the balance of heat generation and heat dissipation
reduces to evaluating the current level I which generates
losses such that the equipment dissipates all of the heat
generated at the specified constant maximum temperature.
This value of I is then the steady state thermal rating of the
equipment (I
thermal
).

As with developing available techniques for enhancing
heat dissipation, good equipment design requires that steps
must be taken to minimise the heat generation in
equipment as far as possible. This may require, for
example:

- Minimising resistance by increasing conductor cross-
section area
- Using non-magnetic materials for structural purposes
to limit eddy current generation
- Using low loss steel laminations to reduce iron core
losses in motors and transformers
- Using low dielectric loss insulation (such as
polyethylene) to limit DDF loss

3. Thermal Transients

Suppose P =rate of total power (loss) generation in the
equipment. Then,

(a) As the equipment temperature rises above the ambient
level, it causes dissipation (heat loss) of some of the heat
generated (P watts) to the ambient. We assume a total heat
dissipation coefficient, h watts/m
2
/
o
C, so that, knowing the
surface area and ambient temperature, the total heat
dissipation can be calculated from the product of h, the
surface area, and the temperature rise above ambient.

(b) In addition to the heat loss to the ambient, the
equipment also heats up as its own thermal capacity
absorbs some of the heat (P) being generated. Knowing the
thermal capacity: mc (c=specific heat) and the temperature
rise, this contribution can be calculated also: it is the
product of mass, specific heat, and temperature rise. This
will be zero at constant operating temperature.

Thus, during a time dt within the transient (temperature
varying) period, the total heat generated, Pdt, is partly lost
to the ambient (Ah (u u
o
)dt) and is partly retained by the
thermal capacity (mcdu). Thus we can write:

Pdt = mcdu + Ah [u(t) u
o
] dt

where u(t) is equipment temperature at time t,
A is surface area available for heat dissipation
u
o

is the ambient temperature
u
s
is the final steady state temperature

For constant P (and this is not always a valid assumption),
the solution of the above equation is (see Appendix):

u(t) u
o
= Au
s
(1 e
t/T
)

The diagram below shows the temperature variation
corresponding to this.

where
S
P
Ah
u A = =steady-state temperature rise

S o
u u =

and
mc
T
Ah
= = thermal time constant

We are interested in the particular case when the final
steady-state temperature has been reached: (i.e. mcdu =0).
This then allows calculation of the thermal or steady-
state rating I
th,
which is the condition when all heat
generated is dissipated to the ambient.

i.e. Pdt = Ah [u(t) u
0
] dt

or P = I
2
R +k = Ah [u(t) u
o
]

or I
th
2
R +k =Ah [u
max
u
o
]

where I
th
is the thermal rating and u
max
is the maximum
permissible operating temperature.
k is a constant term for any constant heat generation
which does not scale with current (such as iron loss
or dielectric loss). Such constant losses may not
always be present in some cases.

In many cases the equipment operation will be cyclic and
the temperature variation will also be cyclic. In this case
the balance equation must be modified to take the duty
cycle of heat loss generation into account.

Note that the maximum permissible operating temperature
u
max
is not the same as the maximum permissible short
circuit temperature. The latter is allowed to be higher
because it is only of very short duration whereas u
max
is of
very long duration.

4. Steady State Temperature Rise

Note that the steady state temperature rise magnitude is
given by the ratio of the power generation (P or P +k) to
the rate of heat loss (Ah). In the following, we want to look
at the considerations needed for ratings calculations for
some different common items of equipment.

4.1 Overhead Line

For a bare conductor overhead line, the heat generation in
the conductor is caused by simple Ohmic heating and also
by a constant level of solar heat absorption (during
daylight). Thus solar heating is the constant k term in
this particular case. The temperature rise above ambient is
thus proportional to a current dependent term (I
2
R) and a
fixed term determined by the intensity of solar radiation.

i.e.
( )
2
I
Solar
R H u o A +

It is inversely proportional to the rate of heat loss, which is
comprised of a radiative (h
r
) and a convective (h
c
)
component in this case:

i.e.
( )
r
1

c
h A h A
u o A
+

Note that the convection heat may be due to either natural
thermal convection or to wind forced convection (or a
combination of the two).

4.2 Cables

XLPE insulated cable (132 kV)

Paper-oil insulated (230kV)

For an insulated cable, the temperature rise is determined
by a current dependent ohmic heating term (I
2
R) and a
fixed level heating term which is determined by the
dielectric heating. For voltages below 66 kV, such
dielectric heating is negligible.

Thus temperature rise Au o (I
2
R + H
d
)

In the cable the only dissipation mechanism within the
cable structure is by thermal conduction from the inner
conductor to the outer surface.

The temperature rise is inversely proportional to the
conducted thermal transfer within the cable to the outer
surface. Other dissipation mechanisms may occur at the
surface depending on the ambient medium and whether the
cable is buried or exposed in air, in which case radiation
and convection play a part in addition to thermal
conduction inside the cable.

3-Phase 66kV oil-paper cable

For three phase cables, as shown, the conduction paths for
heat are more complex and mutual heating of the various
phases can occur. This makes the calculation more
complex.

4.3 Transformers

For a transformer, the temperature rise is determined by a
current dependent term (I
2
R - the copper loss) and a fixed
term determined by the hysteresis and eddy current losses
in the core (the iron losses). The temperature rise is thus
determined by:

Au o (I
2
R + H
m
)

Suppose a particular transformer has a core loss which is
25% of the copper loss at full load current (a relatively
common ratio for transformers). Even when such a
transformer is not loaded, it will still operate at an elevated
temperature whenever it is energised and the core is thus
magnetised. Thus with copper losses at full load 4 times
the iron losses, if the temperature rise at full load is 60
o
C,
then the temperature rise at no load but with the core
magnetised is 60/5 =12
o
C rise above ambient.

The temperature rise is also inversely proportional to the
convective (internal and external), radiative (external) and
conducted losses (between the winding conductor and
insulation).

Transformers have very complex structures and many
different internal and external components, including the
magnetic core, the copper windings the solid (paper)
insulation, the oil (or epoxy resin in dry-type transformers),
the steel tank, the insulating winding spacers, the external
heat exchangers etc. These can all be involved in the
thermal operation of the transformer and as a result
transformers have quite complicated methods of heat
dissipation. These can include forced oil cooling of the
windings, forced fan cooling and radiative cooling of the
oil in large external radiator heat exchanger banks for oil-
cooled transformers. Dry-type transformers have no oil in
them and their cooling is thus only possible by thermal
conduction in the inner structure, with radiation and
convection playing a part at the external surface.

There is also an increase in the use of SF
6
gas-insulated
transformers which have to rely on the SF
6
gas to provide
the internal heat dissipation. Fortunately, SF
6
has much
better thermal dissipation characteristics than air.

Oil-paper insulated transformer

Dry-type epoxy resin insulated transformer

4.4 Other equipment

Similar procedures as outlined above are required for any
item of electrical equipment to determine its thermal
rating.

Other such items may include, for example,

- high current power electronic components such as
thyristors, IGBTs (insulated gate bipolar transistors)
- all types of rotating machines
- all circuit breakers and fuses
- low voltage indoor busbar systems
- switchboards
- electrical contacts (both static and dynamic)
- integrated circuits

5. Equipment Rating

The thermal rating of electrical equipment is determined by
the maximum permissible operating temperatures of the
equipment components. The actual temperature attained
during operation is determined by the balance of the heat
loss and the heat generation as discussed before. The heat
generation within the equipment will be determined (in
total or in part at least) by the current level in the
equipment and the specification of a maximum permissible
operating temperature of some part of the equipment will,
in turn impose, via the heat balance equation, a maximum
permissible operating current. This is then the specified
thermal rating of the equipment item.

In almost all cases the maximum permissible temperature
of electrical equipment is determined by the properties of
the dielectric insulation material used, although in some
cases (for example for overhead lines) other factors may
play a part (for example, thermal expansion, sag, annealing
etc. determine upper temperature limits for normal
overhead lines, while for busbar systems the limiting
temperature might be determined by the melting point of
solder or by tin coating used to improve contact
resistance).

5.1 Electrical Insulation and Temperature

The great majority of electrical insulation materials are
organic in their chemical nature and are thus subject to
relatively low permissible temperatures because of the
chemical reactions which occur continually in such
materials. The rate of these chemical reactions is
exponentially dependent on temperature, following
Arrhenius' law. Chemical change will result from these
reactions and the effect will be a gradual deterioration of
insulating properties of the material. For example paper in
transformers will have its cellulose chain structure broken
down by heat and the material then loses tensile strength
and is longer able to act as an insulant. Thus the operating
temperature of the insulation is of primary importance in
determining the effective lifetime of the insulation and
hence of the equipment. The higher the temperature the
greater is the reaction rate and the faster the deterioration
and the shorter the lifetime. The operating temperature
must thus be chosen carefully to attain a satisfactory
equipment lifetime.

The basis of the temperature limit determination for
insulation materials is the dependence of chemical reaction
rate on temperature:

Reaction rate = (a constant) x exp (O)
[where O is the absolute temperature (K) =u +273 where
u is the Celsius temperature]

The insulation lifetime (T) variation with the Celsius
temperature (u
o
C) is often written in either of two forms
for electrical equipment application:

(a) T = X exp (-au)

where X and a are constants which depend on the
insulation material thermal class. Here u is the
Celsius temperature.

For example, for Class A insulation (with the lowest
temperature withstand level):
X =7.15 x 10
4

and a =0.088

(b) ln
273
B
T A
u
= +
+

where A and B are constants, and u is the Celsius
temperature.

With equation (b), the constants for PVC and XLPE
insulation are:

PVC: A =31.4 ; B =15,000
20,000 T hours at 90
o
C

XLPE: A =27 ; B =14,500
20,000 T hours at 120
o
C 2.3 years
48 T years at 90
o
C
The specification of a nominal required lifetime then
means a specified maximum temperature and this is used
to calculate the maximum current carrying capacity - the
thermal rating.

It should be noted that inorganic materials such as mica,
ferrites, porcelain and glass and also some organic
materials such as silicone rubber and teflon have much
higher temperature limits than normal organic dielectrics.
Gases also have generally high temperature limits but other
factors such as decrease of voltage breakdown strength
with decreased density at high temperatures may need to
be considered for gases.

5.2 Thermal (Steady State) Rating

This is the steady state rating when the temperature has
reached a constant value. Then, the thermal balance
equation becomes:

Ah (u u
o
)dt = Pdt

and thus Au
s
=u
s
u
o
=
P
Ah

where u
s
=final steady state temperature.

To calculate the steady state thermal rating, we specify a
maximum Au
s
and calculate Ah, and the equation then
gives I, the thermal rating.

5.3 Typical maximum allowable temperatures

There are a number of general temperature classes
specified for electrical insulation and theses are listed
below with some examples of materials in each class. Each
class is simply designated by its temperature limit (the
letter designations included are the old classification
method).

Class Typical materials (not all!) in the class
90 (Y) Un-impregnated cellulose: paper cotton etc.
105 (A) Oil-impregnated cellulose etc.
120 (E) Epoxy resins varnishes etc.
130 (B) Combinations of mica chips, glass fibre etc
with bonding (eg resin).
155 (F) Combinations of mica chips, glass fibre etc
with epoxy bonding.
180 (H) Silicones and combinations of mica etc with
silicone.
180 plus (C) Mica, porcelain, glass etc with or without
an inorganic binder: PTFE.


A Cable insulation limits

Type Normal
use
Maximum
permissible
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (
o
C) (
o
C)
V-75 75 75
V-90 75 90
V-105 75 105
Elastomeric (rubber)
R-75 75 75
R-EP-90 90 90
R-CSP-90 90 90
Cross linked
polyethylene (XLPE)
90 90
Oil impregnated paper 80 80
Mineral insulated metal-
sheathed (MIMS)
90 250
High temperature type
Silicone rubber 150 150
PTFE
PolyTetraFluoroEthylene
200 200

B Overhead Lines

Copper 90 110
Aluminium
GalvanisedSteel
90
75
105
110

C Transformers (oil-paper)

Hot spot 100 140
Top oil 80 105
Average oil 70 95
Top winding 90 110
Average winding 60 85

Note: In A, B and C the limits are for normal continuous
operation only. In emergencies and for short-term overload
and short circuits the allowable limits will be higher than
above.

Example of rating calculation:

A (bare) rectangular copper busbar: 50mm x 5mm in cross-
section.
Maximum allowable temperature is

o
110 C
S
u =

Ambient temperature:
o
0
30 C u =
Copper resistivity:
8 o
1.68 10 -m at 20 C
O
Temperature coefficient of resistivity is
o 1
0.0043 C o

=

Skin effect and proximity effect give an increase in
effective AC resistance of 5%:

i.e. R
AC
/ R
DC
=1.05

The heat dissipation rates from each side of the busbar,
obtained from empirical data, are:

Convection:
2 o
7.66 W/m/ C
c
h =
Radiation:
2 o
7.93 W/m/ C
r
h =

Use the above to find the thermal rating for the above
maximum temperature limit.

Calculation

The total heat dissipation coefficient is

h =h
c
+h
r
=15.59 W/m
2
/
o
C.

Consider one-metre length of the busbar. Surface area for
heat dissipation (two sides and neglecting edges):

A =(2) x 1.0 x 0.05m
2
=0.1 m
2

Thus, total heat loss (neglecting the 5mm edges):

hA =15.59 x 0.1 =1.56 W/
o
C.
But:

s
P
Ah
u A =

P =(u
s
u
o
) Ah
=124.8 W

This is the allowable level of power loss generation.

In this case, P =I
2
R only and the resistance is able to be
calculated from the data.

DC
c
l
R
A
= [ A
c
is cross-section area ]

( )
( )
8
1
1.68 10 1 0.0043 110 20
0.05 0.005
( = +

=9.32 x 10
-5
O

and with a 5% increase due to skin effect,

R
AC

=1.05

R
DC

=9.79 x 10
-5

O

I
m
2
x 9.79 x 10
-5
=124.8

and I
m
= 1130 A = thermal rating.

6 Calculation of Steady State Thermal Ratings of:

- Overhead Lines,
- Underground Cables and
- Power Electronic Devices

6.1 Overhead Lines

The overhead line rating is determined by the specified
maximum permissible temperature which is determined by
considerations of sag and statutory clearances and by
annealing effects.

Heat is generated by:

(i) I
2
R heating - I is the unknown to be determined.

(ii) H
S
: Solar Absorption

For (i) we need to calculate resistance R at the maximum
operating temperature u
m
:
We use the relation R =R
o
(1 +o(u
m
20)) [Use R per
unit length to get I
2
R in watts/metre]

For (ii) we calculate H
S
=o
s
S.d W/m
where o
s
=absorptivity of the line conductor surface
S =Solar heat flux in W/m
2

d =projected area of conductor
(=diameter x 1 (m
2
) per metre length).

Heat is dissipated by:

(i) Radiation: (we use Stefans equation)

8 4 4
5.67 10 W/m
R m o
H T T d c t
( =

where:
t.d = surface area of a 1m length of overhead line.
c = emissivity of the line conductor surface

Note that and
m o
T T must be in kelvins in Stefans
equation: i.e. 273
m m
T u = + where
m
u is in
o
C.

(ii) Convection: (We have to use empirical equations
based on experimental data).

(a) Natural:
( )
1.23
0.67
2.60 W/m
c m o
H d u u =

[due to buoyancy flow of air]

(b) Forced:
( )( )
0.45
8.54 W/m
c m o
H vd u u =
[wind generated flow]
where:
d =conductor diameter (m)
u
m
u
o
=maximum temperature rise permissible
v =transverse wind velocity (m/s)

Equate heat generation to heat dissipation to obtain a heat
balance for unit length of line:

i.e. I
2
R
AC
+H
solar
=H
r
+H
c

We then solve this to find the rating I for the maximum
permissible conductor temperature.

6.2 Cables

The rating of insulated cables is determined by the
maximum permissible temperature of the insulation around
the conductor: this temperature is determined by the
potential damage to insulation resulting from thermal
ageing due to increased temperature. We use this
temperature to specify a maximum permissible conductor
temperature for use in the calculations.

Heat is generated by the following mechanisms:

(i) Ohmic heat in conductors: I
2
R.
(ii) Dielectric loss in insulation (constant not
affected by load current); (eCV
2
tano)
(iii) Eddy current loss in metallic sheath and armour
(constant
2
I R ).

To quantify these heat losses, we need:

(i) I
2
R
AC
: use skin effect and proximity effect
multipliers to get R
AC
from R
DC
(typically R
AC
=
1.04 R
DC
).
(ii)
2
tan W/m
d
H CV e o =
Dielectric loss: this is significant only for
V>66kV. We need tan o values (dielectric loss
factor) and cable capacitance per metre, C, from
the manufacturer.
(iii) Need to get sheath loss information from the
manufacturer. Typically sheath losses are ~5% of
the main conductor I
2
R losses.

Heat is dissipated by the following:

(i) Thermal conduction. [Thermal Ohms Law]
through the various coaxial layers of the cable to
the external surface where the heat is dissipated.
(ii) Radiation and convection from the outer surface
(possibly depending on the cable installation
method and location).
Usually only (i) is the only possible dissipation mechanism
if the cable is buried in-ground or is in a small duct.
However, if it is in open air or in a large air duct, radiation
and convection dissipation from the surface are also
possible.

The commonly used techniques of solution for the thermal
rating of cables is to use a thermal equivalent circuit as
shown below, to determine the thermal rating for a
maximum conductor temperature u
m
.

u
o
G
u
m

The equivalent source is I
2
R +H
d
watts

Thermal Equivalent Circuit

Here:

m o
u u = temperature difference (the potential function)

2
d
I R H + = the heat flow in watts (the flux function)
I
2
R + H
d

G = the thermal resistance of the circuit (the medium
characteristic).

From the above circuit we have:

u
m
u
o
= (I
2
R +H
d
)G

This is the Thermal Ohms Law.

To find I, we need to find G
i
for each component of the
cable and also for any other components which will limit
heat flow, for example the earth in which a cable is buried,
as shown below.

In fact, a cable is composed of a number of separate layers
of different material and each of these layers will have a
thermal resistance which must be calculated before the
rating determination can be carried out. The diagram below
shows a typical structure of a single-phase cable with
metallic sheath and armour.

Example: for the single-core cable configuration shown
above and for a unit length of cable:

Insulation layer:
2
1
ln
2
i
i
g r
G
r t
= thermal ohms

Bedding layer:
3
2
ln
2
b
b
g r
G
r t
= thermal ohms

Serving layer:
4
3
ln
2
s
s
g r
G
r t
= thermal ohms

where g
i
, g
b
and g
s
are the thermal resistivities (c.f.
electrical resistivities) of the materials which make up the
various layers: eg the insulation may be paper or cross-
linked polyethylene (XLPE), the bedding may be textile
with pitch and the serving may be PVC. The thermal
resistances of any metal sheaths or armouring are
negligible.

The full thermal circuit is thus:

where:
u
m
=maximum permissible temperature of conductor
u
s
=metal sheath temperature.
u
A
=armour temperature.
u
surface
=cable outer surface temperature.
u
o
=ambient temperature.

o
G is the thermal resistance of the substance between the
cable surface and ambient conditions [This substance may
be air, other cables, water, earth, sand-cement, etc].

The heat sources are thermal analogues of current sources
and
1
and
2
represent eddy current heating factors in the
sheath and armour respectively.

We can use the Thermal Ohms Law applied to the various
parts of the thermal circuit to get the following equations:

2
2
1
2
1 2
2
0 0 1 2
1
2
[ (1 ) ]
[ (1 ) ]
[ (1 ) ]
m s i i d
s a b d
a surface s d
surface d
G I R G H
G I R H
G I R H
G I R H
u u
u u
u u
u u
= +
= + +
= + + +
= + + +

whence

1
2
0 0
1 1 2 0
[1/ 2 ( )]
(1 ) (1 )( )
m d i s b
i b s
H G G G G
I
RG R G R G G
u u

( + + +
=
(
+ + + + + +

We know 0 1 2
, , , , ,
m d
H R u u
and we can calculate
, , .
i b s
G G G

Thus the only unknown is G
o
. This thermal resistance
depends on the environment of the cable surface (i.e.
whether it is in air, water, earth, etc.).
G
o
can be determined in various configurations as
follows:

(a) If the cable is buried in earth

In this case G
o
is then the thermal resistance of the earth
mass between the cable surface and the ground surface.

It can be shown that the thermal resistance for a unit length
of cable:

2
ln
2
e
o
g h
G
a t
| |
=
|
\ .
thermal ohms

where g
e
=earth (thermal) resistivity
h =depth of burial of the cable.
a =cable overall outer radius.

(b) If the cable is in open air

Then the thermal resistance G
o
represents effective
radiation and convection losses and we thus need to know
heat radiation and heat convection coefficients at the cable
surface to calculate the total heat transfer coefficient h.

h =h
r
+h
c
W/m
2

/
o
C

We have:
surface o o
HG u u =

where H is the total heat flow to ambient.

But we also have:

( ) ( )
surface r c o
H h h A u u = +

where A =surface area for dissipation.

Combining these two equations, we get:

( )
1
r c o
h h AG = +
and thus:
( )
1
o
r c
G
h h A
=
+
thermal ohms
or:
1
o
G
hA
= thermal ohms
where h =h
r
+h
c
is the total surface heat dissipation
coefficient of the outer surface of the cable, whatever the
loss mechanisms involved. This is an extremely useful
equation for use in rating calculations.

6.3 Semiconductor Devices

For semiconductors such as thyristors or IGBTs, the
limiting rating factor is the junction temperature of the
device. As with insulation materials, there is deterioration
of the junction caused by thermally induced chemical
change and the device lifetime can be related to junction
temperature by an equation similar to that for insulation
lifetime:

( )
ln
j
B
T A
u
= +
where T is lifetime, u
j
is junction temperature and A and B
are constants of the device.

In terms of its thermal dissipation of the power loss, the
semiconductor device is similar to a power cable in that the
heat generated at the junction from power (V
j
I) loss at the
junction contact resistance or voltage drop has to be
thermally conducted out to the device surface where it can
then be dissipated in a variety of ways: e.g. by use of an
attached ribbed heat sink to enhance convection and
radiation loss.

The method of rating determination for semiconductors
also uses an equivalent thermal circuit as shown below.
The various designations used in the diagram are:

u
j
=junction temperature,
u
c
=case temperature,
u
s
=heatsink temperature,
u
o
=ambient temp.

G
jc
=thermal resistance between junction and case
G
cs
=thermal resistance between case and heat sink
G
ca
=thermal resistance between case and ambient
G
sa
=thermal resistance between heat-sink and ambient

heat-sink case virtual junction
ambient air
j c
G

c s
G

s a
G
c a
G

d
P
j
u
c
u
s
u
a
u

This is the full thermal circuit. In most cases, G
ca
is very
large compared to the other resistances and so the total
thermal resistance simplifies to:

G
ja
=G
jc
+G
cs
+G
sa

If there is no heat-sink, then the total thermal resistance is:
G
ja
=G
jc
+G
ca

Typically, maximum junction temperatures are about 120
140
o
C.

For switching semiconductors, steady state operation at
constant power is not used and the requirement is thus a
pulse rating. In this case if switching is at high enough
frequency, there is no significant decay of junction
temperature between on pulses. Then the average
temperature is effectively the peak temperature and the
same calculation procedure as for cable thermal circuits is
used. The power loss is the total average energy loss per
second. Thus energy loss per pulse and the switching
frequency must be known.

Typical switching pulse on time might be 1 millisec.
with power dissipation of 100 W [200 amps x 0.5 volts]
during that pulse, The duty cycle (on time/off time)
might typically be o = 0.4. Thus the average power
dissipation at the junction would be 100 x 0.4 =40 watts.

APPENDIX A

Calculation of Coaxial Insulation Resistance and its
application to calculation of thermal resistance in
coaxial geometries

The electrical resistance of the insulation layer between the
cylindrical surface at radius r and at radius r +dr and of
length l is:

2
dr
dR
l r
t
=

Hence the total resistance is:

2
1
2
1
ln
2 2
r
r
dr r
R
lr l r

t t
= =
}
ohms

We consider a unit length of cable, 1 m l = and thus:

2
1
ln
2
r
R
r
t
= ohms

By the electrical - thermal analogy, where the heat flow
and current flow are taken as analogous field quantities, the
thermal resistance is:

2
1
ln
2
g r
G
r t
| |
=
|
\ .
thermal ohms

where: g =thermal resistivity.

Note that the expression quoted for G
o
for a buried cable
(at depth h) is exactly analogous to the electrical resistance
of a conductor - plane arrangement in an electrically
resistive medium, obtained from the general equation

RC = c
and the equation:

( )
2
ln 2
C
h a
tc
= farads for a rod-plane gap
which gives:

2
ln
2
o
g h
G
a t
| |
=
|
\ .
thermal ohms

APPENDIX B

Problem: find solution to

( )
( )
x t
d
x t K
dt t
+ = Eq.1

This is a first-order differential equation. The parameter t
is called the time constant. We solve this equation by
separating the variables and then integrating. Rearrange:

dx K x
dt
t
t
=

dx dt
x Kt t
=

1 dx
dt D
x Kt t
= +
} }

where D is a constant of integration. Integrate:

( )
ln
t
x K D t
t
= +
exp
t
x K D t
t
| |
= +
|
\ .

( )
D t
x t K e e
t
t

= +

At t=0:
( )
0
D
x K e t = +
( )
0
D
e x Kt =

Hence:
( ) ( ) ( )
0
t
x t K x K e
t
t t

= + Eq.2

Now consider:

( )
o
Pdt mcd Ah dt u u u = +
Rearrange:

( )
( ) t
d
t K
dt
u
u
t
+ =

where:
mc
Ah
t and
1
o
P
K
Ah
u
t
| |
+
|
\ .
Eq.3

Thus from Eq.2 and initial condition:
( )
0
o
u u = :

( ) | |
t
o
t K K e
t
u t u t

= + Eq.4

As t :
( )
o ss
P
K
Ah
u t u u = = +

ss o ss
P
Ah
u u u A =

Thus,
ss o
Kt u u = A + Eq.5

Hence Eq.4 becomes:

( )
t
ss o ss
t e
t
u u u u

= A + + A
i.e.

( )
1
t
o ss
t e
t
u u u

( = A

( )
1
t
o ss
t e
t
u u u

( = A


If the initial condition is
( )
1
0 u u = then Eq.2 becomes:

( ) | |
1
t
t K K e
t
u t u t

= +

( )
1
t
ss o ss o
e
t
u u u u u

( = A + + A +

( ) ( )
1
t
ss o o ss o o
e
t
u u u u u u u

( = + + +

| |
1
t
ss ss
e
t
u u u

= +

Hence:
( ) ( )
1 1 1
t
ss ss
t e
t
u u u u u u

= +

i.e.

( ) ( )
1 1
1
t
ss
t e
t
u u u u

( =

( ) ( )
1 1
1
t
ss
t e
t
u u u u

( =

ELEC4611-14-Lec 5 - Equipment Thermal Rating

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ELEC4611-14-Lec 5 - Equipment Thermal Rating

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ELEC4611: Equipment Thermal Rating p.

You might also like