Experimental Study on the Thermal Performance of a Beveled Heat Sink for Converter Valves Using Phase-Change Cooling

With the rapid advancement of modern power systems, the capacity and power density of power electronic converters continue to escalate. Thermal performance has emerged as the primary limitation to further capacity increases in converters. To enhance the thermal performance of converters, this study introduces a beveled-cut enhanced heat transfer heat sink utilizing phase-change cooling and investigates its heat transfer characteristics. First, an experimental platform for phase-change cooling of power devices was established to compare the cooling performance of various beveled-cut enhanced heat transfer heat sinks. Second, the internal heat transfer and flow characteristics of the working fluid within the beveled-cut heat sink were analyzed, with a focus on the impact of bevel angle on thermal performance under varying fin heights, fin widths, and fin counts. The findings reveal that for heat sinks with large fin heights and widths exhibiting superior flow characteristics, bevel cutting has a limited effect on optimizing the working fluid’s flow dynamics. Conversely, for heat sinks with weaker flow characteristics and high, wide fins, bevel cutting significantly improves the working fluid’s flow dynamics, thereby enhancing the thermal performance of the heat sink.