Liquid Cooling For Igbt - Lori Igbt Cooling System

Liquid cooling for IGBT

IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor, is by the BJT (Bipolar Transistor) and MOS (Insulated Gate field-effect tube) composite composed of full control voltage drive type power semiconductor devices, with high input impedance of MOSFET and GTR low conduction of the advantages of both the pressure drop.GTR has low saturation voltage and high current-carrying density, but high driving current.MOSFET drive power is small, the switch speed is fast, but the conduction pressure drop is large, the current density is small.IGBT combines the advantages of the above two devices, with low driving power and low saturation voltage.Very suitable for dc voltage of 600V and above converter systems such as ac motor, inverter, switching power supply, lighting circuit, traction drive and other fields.

IGBT is the core device of energy transformation and transmission, commonly known as "CPU" of power electronic devices. As a national strategic emerging industry, IGBT is widely used in rail transit, smart grid, aerospace, electric vehicles and new energy equipment and other fields.

Generally speaking, the current flowing through IGBT module is large and the switching frequency is high, which leads to the high loss of IGBT module devices and the high temperature of devices. However, the IGBT module's poor thermal cooling will cause damage and affect the operation of the whole machine.IGBT overheating reasons may be the drive waveform is not good or excessive current or switch frequency is too high, may also be due to poor thermal cooling.

IGBT's Thermal Challenges

As a core functional device of power electronic control circuit with high heat flux, the failure of most IGBT modules is related to thermal failure, the accumulation of heat will seriously affect the working state and performance of the device.If the temperature is too high, the working efficiency of the module will decline, which will affect the whole working progress.Especially for those devices that need continuous work, IGBT module is more dependent on, and a good cooling system is needed to ensure.Speaking of thermal cooling, the most commonly used are passive fin thermal cooling, wind cooling thermal cooling, these thermal solution, low cost, easy to use and widely used.However, there are also many constraints. The accumulation of heat is too large to be dissipated in time, and the cooling effect quickly reaches the bottleneck. In this case, IGBT module faces a big dilemma.

Cooling Solutions Of IGBT

The cooling methods for IGBTs are crucial for their proper operation and performance. Here are several common IGBT cooling methods:

1. Air Cooling

Natural Cooling (Self-cooling): Utilizes natural air convection and radiation to dissipate heat without external energy assistance. This method is simple, has no moving parts, requires no maintenance, and produces no noise, but has relatively low cooling efficiency.

Forced Air Cooling (Fan Cooling): Uses an electric fan to force air circulation, enhancing convective heat dissipation. Its cooling efficiency is generally 2-4 times that of natural cooling, but fans produce noise and consume electrical power.

2. Liquid Cooling

Circulating Water Cooling: Uses a circulating coolant, usually water, for cooling. This method has extremely high cooling efficiency, often over 150 times that of natural cooling, but involves complex equipment and high costs. Additionally, it requires addressing the purity of the cooling water and ensuring the system's reliability and corrosion resistance over long-term operation.

Oil Cooling: Uses transformer oil or similar fluids as the coolant. Oil provides better cooling performance than air and offers high insulation and electromagnetic shielding effects. It is widely used in high-voltage, high-power power electronic devices.

3. Heat Sink Cooling

For some lower power IGBT devices, especially integrated chips, heat dissipation can be achieved by applying wide copper traces on printed circuit boards. While this method has limited cooling capacity, it is still effective in certain scenarios. For most power devices, dedicated heat sinks are still necessary. Heat sinks come in various shapes, including flat plate, pin fin, and extruded profiles, and their design must be based on the power device's power dissipation and thermal resistance parameters.

4. Combination of Multiple Cooling Technologies

For high-power devices, Lori's combining multiple cooling technologies can create more cost-effective cooling solutions.

User Experience

In this case, the new composite thermal cooling mode must replace the traditional thermal cooling mode. As a fast developing way, composite water-cooled thermal cooling has been prominent in the field of thermal cooling in recent years. Water cooling makes use of the feature that the specific heat capacity of liquid is larger than that of air to absorb heat quickly and fully. After passing through the circulation system, it reaches cooling and exhaust, and then returns to the waterway system.The cycle has been repeated, to continue to heat, if the peak heat, can also be more leisurely to deal with.With the progress and improvement of water cooling and thermal cooling technology, the water cooling and thermal cooling is safer and more durable, and the cost is also reduced.Although installation and maintenance are a little inconvenient, in the long run, water cooling technology is worth putting into use.

Lori's IGBT Heat Sinks

Subtitle Description

IGBT Heat Sink With Copper Tube Water Cooling

IGBT Water cooling heatsink with heat pipe

Broadcast heatsink for IGBT

Water cooling plate for IGBT modules