PROJECT TITLE :

Thermal Management of Power Inverter Modules at High Fluxes via Two-Phase Spray Cooling

ABSTRACT:

A spray cooling system was developed and tested for thermal management of power inverter modules used in automotive applications. The system featured an array of one$,times,$two pressure atomized nozzles that used eighty eight$^circrm C$ boiling point antifreeze coolant with 0.15-$rm l/rm min.rm cm^2$ liquid flow rate and 145-kPa pressure drop. A a pair of-$rm cm^2$ simulated device, having two sorts of enhanced spray surface with microscale structures, reached up to 400-$rm W/rm cm^2$ heat flux with as low as 14$^circrm C$ surface superheat. These experimental results demonstrated the capability of greatly reducing the thermal resistance of the inverter modules that are commonly cooled with single-section convective systems. The long-term reliability of the spray cooling was assessed with 200zero h of testing time. Performance of the presented system proved the spray cooling of Power Electronics as an attractive choice that allows high power densities whereas maintaining acceptable and uniform device temperatures. Similarly, thanks to the use of hot temperature coolant at low flow rates, the spray cooling offers a compact and economical system style.