Power Electronics Loss Measurement Using New Heat Flux Sensor Based on Thermoelectric Device With Active Control

A new approach is presented for measuring the heat dissipation in power electronic devices using a commercial thermoelectric (TE) module as a heat flux sensor. The proposed sensor takes advantage of both the Seebeck and Peltier TE effects, yielding a new type of heat flux sensor with low thermal resistance and appealing accuracy/resolution characteristics. In order to explain the operating principles of this sensor, attention is focused on the model of the TE module and the method of controlling it as a heat flux sensor. The measured performance of early prototype versions of the sensor exhibits promising agreement with the calculated characteristics. One of the implementations of the proposed control method uses the new generation of thin-film TE modules that can measure higher heat flux values than their bulk-type counterparts, making them more attractive candidates for measuring the high heat flux characteristics of modern power modules.