Multiphysics Optimization of Thermal Management Designs for Power Electronics Employing Impingement Cooling and Stereolithographic Printing

Meeting the stringent performance requirements for power electronic converters in electric vehicles requires an integrated approach for optimizing the inherently coupled electrical and thermal performances of converter systems. This article presents a multidisciplinary thermal management design methodology that utilizes genetic algorithms (GAs) to generate topologically optimized geometries for liquid-cooled heat sinks. These GA-generated heat sinks are based on impingement cooling principles and leverage the flexibility of stereolithographic manufacturing techniques. The proposed optimization methodology incorporates the interdependence between the thermal and electrical aspects of the system, and it is capable of targeting performance metrics in either or both domains. This optimization process is demonstrated for a 6.6-kW integrated power module design employing bare-die silicon carbide devices on an FR4-based printed circuit board with embedded ceramic elements. Experimentally validated electrothermal multiphysics simulations of the GA-optimized heat sinks targeting various performance metrics show successful optimization of targeted metrics relative to the initial seed design. The results demonstrate the importance of the multidisciplinary design approach and the effectiveness of the GA-based optimization methodology.