Analysis and Design Optimization of Tilted Rounded-Rectangular Pin-Fins Heat Sink for xEV Double-Sided Cooling Power Module

This study proposes a novel design for a pin-fin heat sink and optimizes it to enhance the thermal performance of double-sided cooling (DSC) power modules applied in inverters for xEV applications. The circular pin-fins are conventionally adopted in automotive power modules. In this study, to decrease the junction temperature with the maximum (Tj,max) of IGBT bare-die, the pin-fin shapes are modified from conventional circular to a rounded rectangle. For furtherTj,maxreduction, the angle of the rounded-rectangular pin-fin is tilted. These shape modifications reduce the IGBT’sTj,maxthanks to three main reasons: (1) increased coolant velocity by reducing pin-fin spacing, (2) reduced wake behind the new pin-fin shapes, and (3) increased turbulence in the coolant by tilting the pin-fin angle. Finite volume method (FVM) simulations demonstrate that the best performance is achieved when the ro…