Thermal Element Research Articles

ESD Stress Analysis and Suppression in a Single-Junction Thermal Converter

This article presents an outline of Electric Transient Disturbances (ETDs), represented by the ElectroStatic Discharge (ESD) in accordance with the Human-Body Model (HBM), on the AC-DC transfer measurement standard, represented by the Single-Junction Thermal Converter (SJTC) Thermal Element (TE). Mitigation technique against the power dissipation build-up, higher than the operational margins recommended by a manufacturer, on the TE were proposed and modelled using Laplace Transform (LT) analysis. A mathematical model and an optimization algorithm were developed to determine the equivalent circuit model parameters of a Transient Overload Protection Module (TOPM) that would offer adequate protection against destructive power dissipation levels build-up on the TE. The mathematical model was developed using an 8 kV ESD, which was expected to deliver short-circuit current with a peak value of approximately 5.33 A through a load impedance of approximately 1 m\varOmega. The ESD stress signal was injected into the TOPM connected in parallel with the TE. The active power dissipated by the SJTC TE per period of transient response was calculated from the current and voltage obtained from the mathematical analysis, and the results indicate a power dissipation of 10 mW by the TE. From the algorithm, the model parameter that noticeably influences the power dissipation capabilities of the TOPM is the inductance and it must be smaller than 1.2 nH. A CAD based simulation model was developed and analysed. The simulation results agreed with the mathematical model.

Bidirectional Coupling Model of Electromagnetic Field and Thermal Field Applied to the Thermal Analysis of the FSPM Machine

The paper aimed to find an accurate and fast model to study the electromagnetic (EM) thermal (TH) filed coupling calculation for the TH analysis in the flux switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machine. It is extremely important to know the coupling mechanism between the EM field and TH field for the designers and users of the FSPM machines. Firstly, in order to study the EM properties of the silicon steel sheet with the temperature, the Epstein frame experiment was set up, where the effect of dc magnetic bias on the core loss is also considered. In order to save the computation time, the bidirectional coupling model based on 2D finite element (FE) EM field and 3D asymmetric minimum element TH field is established, and the steady state and transient TH fields are calculated, respectively. For the transient bidirectional coupling of EM field and TH field, a method based on the adaptive adjustment calculation step is adopted to improve the computing speed. The temperature rise experiment of the prototype was carried out to verify the accuracy of the proposed coupling model. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulation results.

Comparison between two different designs in the AC voltage measurement

In this paper, a comparison is done between two different techniques in measuring the AC voltage. The first technique is the single junction thermal voltage converters (SJTVC) which consist of one thermal element (TE) which its output e.m.f. in the range of 7–12 mV and the other is the new designed thermal voltage converters which consist of a number of TEs connected in parallel, series and series/parallel to increase their output e.m.f. (becomes in the range of 35–51 mV). The effect of increasing the output e.m.f. is studied in this paper through evaluating the uncertainty budget and proved that its increase has a great effect on the accuracy and the uncertainty of the AC voltage measurement.

Electrical Performance Study of a Large Area Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cell Using a Current Shunt and a Micropotentiometer

In this paper, a new technique using a Current Shunt and a Micropotentiometer has been used to study the electrical performance of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell at outdoor conditions. The electrical performance is mainly described by measuring both cell short circuit current and open circuit voltage. The measurements of this cell by using multimeters suffer from some problems because the cell has high current intensity with low output voltage. So, the solar cell short circuit current values are obtained by measuring the voltage developed across a known resistance Current Shunt. Samples of the obtained current values are accurately calibrated by using a Micropotentiometer (μpot) thermal element (TE) to validate this new measuring technique. Moreover, the solar cell open circuit voltage has been measured. Besides, the cell output power has been calculated and can be correlated with the measured incident radiation.