Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Performance of Additively Manufactured Polymer Heat Spreaders for Low-Weight Directed Cooling Integration in Power Electronics

This study aims to provide an additive manufacturing-based pathway for addressing issues concerned with the reliability of high-density electronic packaging. It compares the performance of a non-metallic, additively manufactured heat spreader with that of a conventional cold plate. CFD software is first used to evaluate the heat spreaders with respect to cooling capability. Furthermore, the device is experimentally tested in a flow loop and its performance compared to that of the cold plate. Initial simulation results show the additively manufactured plastic heat sinks provide a uniform cooling profile and maintain lower maximum temperatures seen in the power module. Experimental results show a lower pressure drop seen is seen in the heat spreader over a wide range of flow rates. Moreover, the use of plastics shows a clear discount of EMI while keeping the material cost and the device weight at a reduced level.