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A DC-to-AC main Power Inverter Module (PIM) is one of the key components in electrified powertrain systems. Accurate thermal modeling and temperature prediction of a PIM is critical to the design, analysis, and control of a cooling system within an electrified vehicle. PIM heat generation is a function of the electric loading applied to the chips and the limited heat dissipation within what is typically compact packaging of the Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) module inside the PIM. This work presents a thermal modeling approach for a 3-phase DC/AC PIM that is part of an automotive electrified powertrain system. Heat generation of the IGBT/diode pairs under electric load is modeled by a set of formulae capturing both the static and dynamic losses of the chips in the IGBT module. A thermal model of the IGBT module with a simplified liquid cooling system generates temperature estimates for the PIM.

Various payloads, such as electronic systems, have become an integral part of modern military ground vehicles. These payloads often feature high thermal density that need to be effectively managed, especially under demanding operating conditions, to maintain system reliability. This paper describes the modeling and analysis of a nanofluid augmented coolant rail combined with thermoelectric devices to address the cooling challenges posed by these payloads. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to investigate the nanoparticle enhancement model. Numerical results obtained show that the convective heat transfer coefficient can be enhanced by up to 16% with the augmentation of nanoparticles into the base fluid. The results also show that the peak computer temperature is rather insensitive to the complexity of the model used and that the proposed system provides cooling performance which would not be possible with traditional air-cooled heat sinks.