Liquid Metal Magnetohydrodynamic Pump for Junction Temperature Control of Power Modules

Power modules are the most common components to fail in power converters that are employed in mass transportation systems, thus leading to high unscheduled maintenance cost. While operating, high junction temperature swings occur that result in high thermomechanical stress within the structure of the power module, reducing the lifetime of the module. Liquid metals as a cooling medium received so far little attention in the area of power semiconductor cooling, despite being able to remove high heat fluxes. This paper shows for the first time how liquid metal is used to reduce actively the junction temperature swing. A magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pump has been designed for this purpose allowing active control of the flow rate of the liquid metal that impinges against the baseplate of the module. The pump has been 3-D printed and is attached directly to the power module. A closed-loop temperature control system is implemented, able to estimate the insulated-gate bipolar transistor's junction temperature, and thus, controls the MHD power. This paper presents simulation and experimental results showing reductions in the temperature swing over the full load cycle with 12 °C as the highest observed reduction rate. This paper also shows detailed designs of the MHD pump and the controller hardware.