Investigation on Thermal Resistance and Capacitance Characteristics of a Highly Integrated Power Control Unit Module

• Main Authors: Maosheng Zhang, Yu Bai, Shu Yang, Kuang Sheng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Electronics
• Subjects: electric vehicles; power control unit module; thermal resistance
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/10/8/958

With the increasing integration density of power control unit (PCU) modules, more functional power converter units are integrated into a single module for applications in electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles (EVs/HEVs). Different types of power dies with different footprints are usually placed closely together. Due to the constraints from the placement of power dies and liquid cooling schemes, heat-flow paths from the junction to coolant are possibly inconsistent for power dies, resulting in different thermal resistance and capacitance (RC) characteristics of power dies. This presents a critical challenge for optimal liquid cooling at a low cost. In this paper, a highly integrated PCU module is developed for application in EVs/HEVs. The underlying mechanism of the inconsistent RC characteristics of power dies for the developed PCU module is revealed by experiments and simulations. It is found that the matching placement design of power dies with a heat sink structure and liquid cooler, as well as a liquid cooling scheme, can alleviate the inconsistent RC characteristics of power dies in highly integrated PCU modules. The findings in this paper provide valuable guidance for the design of highly integrated PCU modules.