Comparative Thermo-Fluid Assessment of Automotive Power Module with Elliptical Pin-Fin

The automotive power module serves as the heart of the powertrain of the electric vehicle. As the power rating of modules increases, the issues related to thermal failures become increasingly prominent, impacting the safety and reliability of the powertrain. Advanced thermal management with integrated Pin-Fin is considered an effective solution for the automotive power module. This paper focuses on the comprehensive thermal-fluid assessment of the elliptical Pin-Fin, which is an increasingly embraced technology for the automotive power module, in comparison with traditional circular Pin-Fin. The finite element model of the automotive power module with HybridPack Drive packaging is created by using the multi-physics tool COMSOL. With the help of the front-to-front converter test rig, comparative experimental results are demonstrated under different dc-link voltage, phase current, and flow rate conditions. The findings indicate that under high power losses, elliptical Pin-Fin exhibits superior heat dissipation performance compared to traditional circular Pin-Fin. Besides, it is observed that the increasing cooling flow rate is a non-effective way to improve heat dissipation for the elliptical Pin-Fin, which is limited by the cost of increased pressure drop, manufacturing complexity, and cost.