COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES TO ENHANCING THE THERMAL MANAGEMENT OF WIRING SYSTEMS IN HIGH-POWER ELECTRONICS

Abstract

This study investigates the thermal management of wiring systems in high-power electronics, focusing on the impact of material selection, cooling methods, and wiring configurations on system performance. A comprehensive computational analysis was conducted to assess thermal resistance, temperature rise, and failure rates under various conditions. Our results indicate that copper provides the best thermal conductivity among the materials tested, offering a significant advantage in heat dissipation compared to aluminum, silver, and nickel. The study also explores different cooling strategies, with liquid cooling and phase change materials showing the highest efficiency in reducing temperature rise, achieving reductions of up to 40%. The hybrid cooling systems that use heat sinks together with liquid cooling delivered the highest potential for improvement while enhancing thermal performance and extending system life expectancy.  An investigation into the influence of wire gauge exposed that reducing wire thickness reduces overall system temperature but generates larger temperature variations.  A failure test confirmed that dependable system operation depends heavily on cooling technologies because proper cooling techniques result in fewer failures and longer operational timeframes.  Synthesized data advocates for selecting appropriate wires alongside cooling solutions in high-power wiring systems to enhance their operation performance.  The proposed research presents potential avenues to explore hybrid cooling solutions while studying materials with high thermal conductivity levels for better high-power electronics thermal management.