An integrated design approach for the hardware optimization of electrical power modules for automotive electrotraction

In this paper, a systematic approach is presented for the design and optimization of forced liquid cooled electronic modules with high power dissipation. The steps of the design cycle include hydrodynamical evaluation of the heat sink, thermal management, thermomechanical optimization and especially lifetime prediction of soldered joints. Utilized engineering tools comprise computational fluid dynamics, finite differences and finite element programs. These are coupled via software interfaces in order to enable data exchange as well as efficient cooperation of the designers. Applying these means, performance, reliability and costs of a certain module have been optimized. By use of a design-for-reliability procedure substantial savings with regard to development time, prototyping effort and consequently costs can been achieved