A High-Resolution Analytical Thermal Modeling Method of Capacitor Bank Considering Thermal Coupling and Different Cooling Modes

Abstract

Thermal stress is of crucial importance to capacitor reliability. However, for a capacitor bank, on spatial scale, the complex heat transfer modes are not clearly illustrated; and on time scale, the ESR aging is neither fully discussed in current evaluation methods. These could lead to a glaring error in the prediction of temperature distribution and lifetime estimation. Therefore, this paper proposed an analytical thermal modeling method with high-resolution for the capacitor bank, considering the thermal coupling effect between individual capacitors, as well as different cooling conditions and the heat variation caused by ESR aging. Firstly, the improved thermal state-space modeling method is proposed to universally describe a multiple heat source system. Then, based on heat transfer and fluid mechanic theories, the characterization method of thermal coupling effect in different cooling modes is discussed. Furthermore, the ESR aging model is applied in the electro-thermal analysis of capacitor bank, aiming to improve the accuracy of thermal calculation in long time scale. Finally, to alleviate the uneven temperature distribution in an in-line designed capacitor bank, a staggered design method is proposed followed by a case study, where a nine-capacitor bank is presented to validate the corresponding modeling method and optimization.