Heatsink Selection & Design

Power Electronics
Design Fundamentals
Operation Principle
Conduction, Convection, Radiation
Some Heat Sink Designs

Fuente: MyHeatSinks.com
Conduction Heat Transfer

= Heat Transfer (W)

= Thermal Conductivity (W/m.K)

= Surface Area (m )
2

= Temperature Difference Across the Material (K)

= Length of the Material (m)

Example:

q = (70 W/m oC) (1 m) (1 m) ((150 oC) - (80 oC)) / (0.05 m)

q = 98kW

Source: https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/conductive-heat-transfer-d_428.html
Heat Transfer Throughout Different Materials
Thermal Conductivity of Common Materials (at
25C)

Fuente: extron.com
Convection Heat Transfer

= Heat Transfer (W)

= Convection Heat Transfer Coefficient (W/m2.K)

= Surface Area (m2)

= Temperature difference across the material (K)

Which one works better?

A B
Orientation for natural convection

Convección Natural

Fuente: Xicato Inc. Application Note: Heatsink Design 04/9/13

For air:
Radiation Heat Transfer

= Object emissivity coefficient

= Stefan-Boltzmann Constant
= Surface Temperature

= Surrounding Temperature

= Surface Area (m2)

Emissivity for different aluminium coating types

Fuente: Xicato Inc. Application Note: Heatsink Design 04/9/13

Design Validation
Heat Sink Calculation
For Simple Geometry

Heat Dissipation Calculation

Power Converter

Pin Pout

Control Signal

Power dissipation on the device

Using Vo and Io
RMS and AVG current with different source
waveforms (1/2)

Fuente: STMIcroelectronics. AN604 Application note

RMS and AVG current with different source
waveforms (2/2)

Fuente: STMIcroelectronics. AN604 Application note

Heat generation on semiconductor devices

= Resistencia térmica

= Temperatura en la juntura

= Temperatura ambiente

= Potencia disipada
Maximum power dissipation

= Máxima disipación de potencia

= Máxima temperatura en la juntura

= Temperatura ambiente

= Resistencia térmica
Heat Transfer Throughout Different Materials
Manufacturer’s Specifications

For Diodes SF161 - SF164

Do I need a Heat Sink?

No

Si
Thermal Resistance Needed

= Heat Sink Thermal Resistance

= Maximum Environment Temperature

= Max Junction Temperature

= Thermal resistance between junction and case

= Thermal resistance between case and heat sink

Imagen: Phillips Semiconductor. Application Note AN10384
Heat sink Install

Fuente: Fairchild Semiconductor: Application Note AN-4166

Resistance between case and heat sink

Fuente: Fairchild Semiconductor: Application Note AN-4166

Other issues to take into account

Altitude Correction

Relative Humidity Correction

Online resources:

http://www.myheatsinks.com/calculate/thermal-resistance-plate-fin/#
Results: