Inverter controller cooling

The customer

• Medium enterprise
• Sector: Electric equipment manufacturing
• Country: United Kingdom

The project

• Size: 65-70 man-hours
• Duration: 2-3 weeks

The problem

• Unknown cooling capacity and thermal resistance
• High controller temperature may lead to failure
• Natural convection deemed not enough

Proposed solution

• Model natural and forced convections together with radiation
• Evaluate different fins and heat sink geometries

The simulations

• Thermal simulation for natural convection (CFD analysis)
• Thermal simulation for different forced convection conditions (CFD analysis)
• Thermal simulation for different heat sink geometries (CFD analysis)

Project overall results

• Required cooling power obtained. Heat sink optimal geometry and fan requirements learned.
• Savings over £31,000 for the customer in prototyping and testing (estimate).
• Savings of more than 8 weeks in development time (estimate).