Comparison between cooling strategies for power electronic devices: fractal mini-channels and arrays of impinging submerged jets

Power electronic devices like Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) and diodes are often characterized by power densities and dimensions that could result in very high heat flux densities. In order to guarantee the expected performance and lifetime for these components, dedicated active cooling devices are usually adopted. In the present paper, the comparison between two different cooling strategies for power electronics is presented: fractal-channel design and submerged impinging jets. Each cooling strategy is tested on two different geometrical configurations. Water is used as coolant in all cases. Assessment of the considered cooling methods is done through application of the selected configuration in a simplified system composed by a rectangular chip (heat source) separated from the coolant by a solid block.

Three-dimensional conjugated heat transfer simulations are performed by using RANS solver implemented in OpenFOAM and two-equations turbulence models, resolving also the viscous sublayer. Numerical results allow to compare the cooling strategies in terms of maximum chip temperature, overall chip-to-coolant thermal resistance, and pumping power required. In summary, the fractal-channel design shows limitations in guaranteeing low chip temperatures at an affordable pumping power. The submerged impinging jets approach shows very high local heat transfer coefficient by which it is possible to tailor the cooling effect on specific hot spots. (paper)