Enabling overloadability in power semiconductor modules by pulsating heat pipe coolers

Many power-electronics systems must be able to handle high loads for a short period of time. However, the peak temperature rise in the semiconductor modules during such overload periods is a key stressor and limitation. In this work, a high-performance pulsating heat pipe cooler is developed to anticipate for the overload situations. The high heat load was addressed by leveraging the dynamic thermal impedance of pulsating heat pipe and its unique thermal behavior, which the thermal resistances reduce at higher heat fluxes. Prototypes were manufactured by additive manufacturing method and evaluated extensively. The benefits of the cooler were studied in different overload scenarios. The cooler was able to extract heat load of 1.3 kW during overload from and up to 1 kW at steady state. In all tests, no sharp temperature rise was observed, emphasizing on the cooler ability to successfully suppress sudden temperature rises. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of using pulsating heat pipe coolers for applications such as drivetrains, propulsion inverters, HVDC and FACTs, where an efficient cooling and overloadable power modules are required.