A Test Rig for Thermal Analysis of Heat Sinks for Power Electronic Applications

This paper discusses the design and manufacture of a test rig for practical thermal analysis of the temperature distribution across forced air-cooled heat sinks. High-temperature gradients across power electronic modules that have a large area of semiconductor structure can result in premature failure of the components due to mechanical stress-related fatigue. Computer modelling and simulations predict the temperature distribution across the heat sink, but physical temperature measurements are required to validate these results. In order to acquire these temperature readings, a bespoke test rig is designed and manufactured. Temperature readings obtained using this test rig are applied for comparison to those obtained by computer simulation and, hence provide validation of the computer simulation results.