Direct Phase-Change Cooling of Vapor Chamber Integrated With IGBT Power Electronic Module for Automotive Application

Chen, Yiyi; Li, Bo; Wang, Xuehui; Wang, Xin; Yan, Yuying; Li, Xiang; Wang, Yangang; Qi, Fang; Li, Helong

Abstract

In electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, IGBT power module trends to dissipate higher heat flux due to increased power rating and reduced package size. An inefficient cooling method will result in stringent thermal reliability problems. Therefore, there is a strong need for innovative and efficient cooling technologies in order to tackle these issues. In this paper, a localised direct phase change cooling strategy is applied and integrated with Direct Bonded Copper in IGBT power module. Vapour chamber with light weight, high thermal conductivity and even temperature uniformity replaces original copper baseplate. Layers of thermal grease and original cooling plate are removed, leading to a further reduction in thermal resistance. In order to evaluate the new module, a thermal model and a thermal test rig were built to analyse temperature distribution in layers, junction temperature, temperature uniformity and thermal resistance. Results indicate the integrated thermal management system outperforms traditional cooling solutions on the cooling capacity. Improvements on junction temperature, temperature uniformity and total thermal resistance are 34.6%, 76.6%, and 41.6%, respectively. The results illustrate the potential of phase change cooling by vapour chamber. It provides a new perspective in the compact and efficient design of power electric modules.

Citation

Chen, Y., Li, B., Wang, X., Wang, X., Yan, Y., Li, X., …Li, H. (2021). Direct Phase-Change Cooling of Vapor Chamber Integrated With IGBT Power Electronic Module for Automotive Application. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, 36(5), 5736-5747. https://doi.org/10.1109/tpel.2020.3031372

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 15, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Oct 15, 2020
• Publication Date: 2021-05
• Deposit Date: Oct 31, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 12, 2023
• Journal: IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
• Print ISSN: 0885-8993
• Electronic ISSN: 1941-0107
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 5736-5747
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/tpel.2020.3031372
• Keywords: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5011742
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9225695