• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2018

Thermal performance of a heat sink for an inverter power stack was analyzed in terms of array and installation location of an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT). Thermal flow around the heat sink was calculated with a numerical model that could simulate forced convection. Thermal performance was calculated depending on the array and location of high- and low-power IGBTs considering the maximum temperature of IGBT. The optimum array and installation location were found and causes were analyzed based on results of numerical analysis. For the numerical analysis, experiment design considered the installation location of IGBT, ratio of heat generation rates of high- and low-power IGBTs, and velocity of the inlet air as design variables. Based on numerical results, a correlation that could calculate thermal performance of the heat sink was suggested and the maximum temperature of the IGBT could be predicted depending on the installation method.