Investigation and optimization of an intelligent power module heat sink using response surface methodology

The heat dissipation performance of an intelligent power module (IPM) is an important part of power electronics. This study conducts a parametric impact analysis and optimization on the thermal-hydraulic performance of an IPM heat sink. A fluid–solid coupling CFD numerical calculation model for the IPM heat sink was established. The influences of the number of pipes, pipe diameter, pipe connection method on IPM maximal temperature, pressure drop, Nusselt number, thermal resistance and entropy generation were studied. Results show that the large pipe number, small pipe diameter can reduce the IPM maximal temperature and thermal resistance, but increase pressure drop and entropy generation. Considering the maximum temperature and pressure drop as multiple targets, the structural parameters of the IPM heat sink were optimized using response surface methodology. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the influence weight of the parameters on the performance of the heat sink, and regression models were obtained. Finally, multi-objective optimization was used to achieve the lowest IPM maximum temperature with the minimal increase in pressure drop. The results showed that the maximum temperature without an increase in pressure drop decreased by 4.55 K when compared with that of the original structure.