Improved Thermal Management of Power Modules at Transient Heat Loading using Jet Impingement

To improve the thermal performance of power modules, advanced cooling and analysis is required. Jet impingement has been found to improve the maximum junction temperature and provide linear temperature distribution across the devices. Furthermore, the steady-state analysis of most jet impingement studies is not an accurate comparison when considering the performance inside a vehicle. Therefore, this work compares jet impingement to a "baseline" cooling system, using both steady-state and transient analysis. The jet impingement cooling reduced the maximum steady-state device temperature by 48 °C. Additionally, the same jet impingement system was able to reduce the MOSFET and diode junction temperatures throughout the entire drive cycle. The maximum MOSFET junction temperature was also reduced by 11 °C which allows for safer operation.