A 2D Finite Element Thermal Model of a Three-Phase-Inverter Heat Sink

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis and simulation of a three-phase voltage-source inverter. The inverter is driven using space vector modulation and it has a dead time of 2 ?s. During this simulation, power losses on the power electronic switches are calculated and used on a thermal model. The thermal conduction equation was solved to predict the temperature distribution. The finite element numerical method was used to solve the thermal conduction equation. A C code finite element thermal model was programmed.