Application of novel double-layer micro-jet heat sinks for energy-efficient thermal management of motor inverters in electric vehicles

Abstract

The relentless advancement in electronics miniaturization and performance has birthed a tremendous amount of heat flux, demanding effective dissipation techniques. Thermal effects pose a significant hurdle in the thermal management of electric vehicles (EVs) and having advanced cooling techniques in place is vital. To tackle this, the present study numerically evaluates the cooling attributes of two novel double-layer micro-jet heat sinks (DLMJHSs) to address the thermal management of insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) in the motor inverters of EVs. The numerical analyses are carried out for Reynolds numbers ranging from 5000 to 25,000, IGBT heat fluxes of 100, 200, and 300 W/cm2, and different configurations of DLMJHSs. The potential of using nanofluids is assessed by employing Al2O3–water nanofluid with different volume fractions of 0.8% and 1.7%. The finite volume technique is implemented to solve the equations and the turbulence closure is modeled using the k-ԑ model. Results show that HS #2 provides a 10.2% higher convective heat transfer coefficient leading to a 7.44 ℃ lower baseplate temperature than HS #1. Besides, HS #2 prevents the occurrence of high-temperature spots owing to a more uniform temperature distribution in comparison with HS #1. HS #2 demonstrates the most uniform temperature distribution, with a Coefficient of Variation of only 0.00993 and a maximum heat transfer coefficient of 80.5 kW/m2 ℃. The heat sink’s baseplate temperature drops by increasing either the Reynolds number or the volume fraction. The baseplate temperature declines by up to 6.94 ℃ using a nanofluid volume fraction of 1.7% compared with only the base fluid. A minimum Reynolds number of 15,700 is required to prevent overheating at the peak heat flux. The performance evaluation criterion (PEC) is higher than 1 for Re ≤ 15,000.