Development of compact thermal model with two exchange surfaces

Abstract

The design of electronic power converters includes many aspects such magnetism, material choice, geometry and heat transfer. Their simulations require complex and iterative methods. The compact thermal model (CTM) can then be used to limit the computation time in the design stage. In the model adopted in this paper, the system is represented by two exchange surfaces. An impedance matrix is used to link the temperature of the surfaces to the heat fluxes. This matrix should be independent of the boundary conditions applied at each exchange surface. The computation of the impedance matrix elements versus the frequency is explained. The model is validated using finite element simulations.