Abstract
Subsea factories are expected to play an important role in future oil production. Cooling of the necessary power converters in a deep-sea environment is a great challenge. Because of their high reliability, passive cooling systems that rely on natural convection of the oil within the converter tank and the seawater around it are preferred. In this paper, we present a numerical code for one-dimensional (1D) network models of natural-convection cooling specifically developed for subsea converters. Network elements are provided to model converter components such as semiconductor modules mounted on oil-cooled heat sinks. For spatial discretization, the finite-volume method is used, and the resulting set of nonlinear equations is solved in MATLAB. Measurements of natural-convection cooling of semiconductor heat sinks immersed in an oil-filled tub are presented, and 1D network models are set up to simulate this case. The numerical convergence is verified and the temperatures are compared. The comparison yields the first experimental confirmation of the model and demonstrates the importance of buoyancy corrections in the flow between the fins of heat sinks. Further experiments will be needed to gain experience with the model and refine it as necessary.
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