A Vertically Enhanced Manifold Microchannel System for Thermal Management of Power Electronics

In a more electrified future, development of high power, compact, and synergistically cooled power electronics for improved performance and reliability is of critical importance to a broad range of defense and commercial applications. As power levels increase, power converters must manage higher thermal loads in smaller and lighter weight packages. This necessitates smarter packaging configurations and more aggressive cooling schemes. This work introduces a novel cooler design for thermal management of high-power switches in a dual active bridge converter: a vertically enhanced manifold microchannel system (VEMMS). As opposed to traditional flat heatsinks, this cooler shrinks in footprint but expands away from the board in the direction of its height (
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-direction), for increased heat transfer area while keeping the footprint on the printed circuit board (PCB) at minimum. Since most power converters’ total height is dictated by magnetic elements such as the core, expanding the cooler in vertical direction does not reduce packing density, while it significantly enhances its thermal performance. Both liquid and air-cooled versions of the cooler are introduced through case studies, and their advantages are assessed through extensive numerical modeling. Volume based power densities of 20 kW/L for the overall converter and 286 kW/L for one full bridge assembly for a 10-kW power converter were attained.