Improvement of IGBT cooling using modified micro-channel heat sinks

This study investigates the thermal coupling of a commercial Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) power module with a micro-channel heat sink, focusing on pumping power and cooling performance across different designs. Three pin-fin geometries and four lid configurations were compared with a parallel rectangular channel design, all under identical dimensions and operating conditions. To reflect electric vehicle conditions, water-ethylene glycol mixtures at various concentrations were used as the working fluid. Results show that pin-fin heat sinks significantly outperform rectangular channels, lowering the module’s peak temperature by approximately 30 ° C and temperature non-uniformity by 25%. The proposed lid modification also reduces pumping power significantly without degrading thermal performance. Among all tested designs, the circular pin-fin heat sink with a second row of micro-channels and a thermally conductive lid (MCHS D4) is the most efficient, reducing thermal resistance by 77% compared to the base design and handling a maximum heat load of 687 W/cm 2 . However, increasing ethylene glycol concentration degrades performance, raising pumping power and thermal resistance by 38% and 43%, respectively. This work offers key insights into optimizing thermal management for power electronics by evaluating performance under near-realistic conditions. • Evaluation of various designs of micro-channel heat sink for cooling of IGBT power module was done. • Pin-fin design shows by far better performance compared to parallel rectangular design. • The circular pin-fin offers more economical performance than other pin-fin designs. • Modifying the lid of the heat sink significantly reduces the pumping power requirements. • Adding ethylene glycol to the working fluid adversely affects thermohydraulic performance.