Advances in the dynamic active cooling of power electronic modules

This paper presents the design and demonstration of a regulation circuit for active cooled power modules: the power dissipation within heat generating elements is sensed and the bias voltage of a fan is continuously adapted to try and keep the temperature at a given assembly location constant, thus reducing thermal cycling in the assembly to extend its operational lifetime. This work enhances previous achievements in this area by implementing a non-linearized, non-approximated regulation circuit. The results indicate a dramatic improvement in the regulation capability and thermal cycle amplitude reduction, both in the steady-state and in the transient domain.