HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEAT SINK FOR HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE INVERTERS

摘要

We report a novel active heat sink (AHS) that allows high-density electronic components to operate at a stable temperature over a broad range of ambient conditions. AHS receives heat at high flux and transfers it at reduced flux to environment, coolant fluid (e.g., air or engine coolant), heat pipe, or structures. Temperature of the heat load can be controlled electronically. Target applications for AHS include thermal management of high-power inverters for hybrid electric vehicles. Depending on the configuration, AHS can handle a heat load of several hundred watts at a heat flux over 1,000 W/cm2 with a thermal resistance as low as 0.1 °C/W. AHS physics, engineering design for inverter applications, performance simulations, and initial test data are presented.