Heat analysis of a fuse for semiconductor devices protection using 3-D finite element method

This paper describes numerical analysis of the transient temperature rise of the fuse elements in current-limiting fuses for protecting semiconductor devices such as semiconductor power diodes and thyristors from short-circuit faults. The transient temperature rise is obtained by using 3-D finite element method combining the analysis of current distribution in the fuse with the heat analysis of the fuse. The calculated results show good agreement with the experimental ones. It is shown that this 3-D analysis method is capable of evaluating a new design of current-limiting fuses instead of the conventional trial and error approach.