Using web based tools for the

thermal design of a power

converter.
APEC 2016

Ahmed Zaghlol (Mersen), Jeremy Howes (Tesla Energy), David Levett

(Infineon NA) Greg Shendel (Parker SSD Drives USA)
Design Specification

Application - Grid Tie Converter.

Voltage – 480Vac
Current 200-300Arms
Switching frequency 3-8kHz

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Outline

Where to start?

For the thermal design three areas:

› Power modules - Losses

› Heatsink technologies – Performance and cost of
different types
› Fans – How they affect heatsink performance -
Cost per CFM

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Power Module

› Package selected industry standard EconoDUAL™ 3

› Rule of Thumb ROT select modules with approx. 2x rms current
rating at 85°C. So a 450A or 600A part. Voltage rating 1200V.
› Relative cost 600A part = 1.0 450A part = 0.75

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Thermal Limitations

1.Max. semiconductor 150°C

temperature rating

2.Design margin Δ15°C

3.Power loss in W X 300W x

4.Thermal resistance 0.15 °C/W
junction to sink = Δ45°C

Power loss in W X 300W x

5.Thermal resistance 0.2 °C/W
Sink to ambient = Δ60°C

6.Ambient temperature 30°C

30°C + 60°C + 45°C + 15°C = 150°C

So we need Module, Losses and Heatsink thermal resistance to amb

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Loss Calculator - Iposim On-Line

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Loss Calculator - Iposim On-Line

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Iposim Results

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Iposim Results
Power loss in Watts

- IGBT

- Diode

Current in amps rms

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3D Surface Plot of Losses Vs. Current and Fsw

Loss in
Watts
700.0

600.0

500.0 600.0-700.0
500.0-600.0
400.0
400.0-500.0
300.0-400.0
300.0
200.0-300.0

200.0 100.0-200.0

400 0.0-100.0
100.0
300
0.0
2000 200
3000
4000
5000
6000 RMS
7000 100
8000
Switching Frequency 9000 Current
10000

450A Module Surface Pot of Losses Vs. Switching Frequency and Current

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Cooling Technology Road Map for Power Modules

Approximate thermal performance of different heat sink

technologies with a typical high power IGBT module

0.14

0.12

0.1

0.08
°C/W

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
Al Extrusion AirCooled Al Air Cooled Cu Aircooled Phase Water Cooled Al Water Cooled Vapoer phase
bonded Fin bonded fin Change Cu Change Cu

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Consider 3 main air cooled types

Extrusion Bonded fin Hollow fin

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Aluminum Heat Sinks Construction

Extruded - Fin Ratio length to

spacing typically limited to ≈ 12:1

Bonded Fin Heat Sinks

By inserted fins into a base plate a
much higher fin ratio is possible.
Insertion technologies used:
Swaging, Gluing, Brazing, Soldering

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Thermal Design Software, R-Tools

Interactive and Free on-line thermal

design software
Quick simulations
Step-by Step approach

www.R-Tools.com

Air Cooled Liquid Cooled

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R-Tools: Step by Step Thermal Modeling

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Use Active Heat Sink Area

Chip

≈4 mm Not to
scale
30°

≈2 mm
Active heat sink area
30° spreading from chips so chip area + 2mm used for heat transfer into heatsink surface.

Size of area
≈ 92 x 32mm

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Heatsink Simulation

Rule of thumb start with surface area twice the size of the modules
60.4 C rise with 700W ≈ 0.85 degC/W thermal resistance per module

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Consider 3 main air cooled types

Extrusion Bonded fin Hollow fin

Parameter Al Al base Al base

All results three modules @ 700W loss per module Extrusion Bonded Fin Hollow Fin
Max heatsink surface temp rise °C 160/320CFM 147/105 77/67 72.1/61.1
Thermal resistance per module °C/W 160/320CFM 0.20/0.14 0.11/0.096 0.103/0.087
Relative Heat Sink Cost 0.23 0.7 0.68

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Relative Cost for Different Options

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Fan Airflow vs. Pressure Drop

160 1
Air Flow Pressure Drop
0.9
140
0.8

Pressure Drop (in of water)

120
0.7
100
0.6
Air Flow (cfm)

80 0.5

0.4
60
0.3
40
0.2
20
0.1

0 0
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Number of Fins

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More Fins are not Always Better

Here fin count ↑ Rth ↓ due to Here fin count ↑ pressure drop ↑ and air flow ↓

↑ fin surface area this outweighs the effect of fin count ↑ .

160 0.120

140

Thermal Resistance (°C/W)

0.100

120
Air Flow (cfm)

0.080
100

80 0.060

60
Air Flow Thermal Resistance 0.040

40

0.020
20
Optimal fin count region
0 0.000
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Number of Fins

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Heatsink Performance – Effect of Module Spreading

°C
Airflow

Sink max ΔT = 100°C

5mm spacing 50mm spacing

Ambient = 40°C

Sink max ΔT = 79°C

Rth sink – ambient: spacing at 5mm= 0.143°C/W at 50mm 0.113°C/W
Rth ↓ 21%.
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Final confirmation using FEA modelling

Full FEA module can also simulate transients such as fan loss

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 Questions
?

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Perfection vs. Market
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