THERMAL MONITORING OF A POWER DEVICE

The present disclosure relates to a method of thermal monitoring of a power device 1 comprising an enclosure 3 around a heat-generating component 5 in contact with a circulating electrically insulating cooling fluid 4. The power device also comprises a first sensor 7a performing measurements relating to power losses of the power device and a second sensor 7b performing measurements of a reference temperature of the power device. The method comprises, in a first computer processing environment, executing a first algorithm based on design information about the power device for at least two different operation states of the power device. The method also comprises, from the first algorithm, deriving coefficients relating to heat transfer in the power device for the at least two operation states. The method also comprises, storing the derived coefficients in a database. The method also comprises connecting the database to a second computer processing environment. The method also comprises, during operation of the power device, the second computer processing environment receiving information about the measurements performed by the first sensor and the second sensor. The method also comprises, in the second computer processing environment, executing a second algorithm based on the stored coefficients and on the received measurement information for estimating at least one temperature of the heat generating component in the power device in real time.