Design and Evaluation of the Zigzag-Fin Multiparallel Serpentine Heat Sink for IGCTs

Abstract

Press-pack high-power devices, such as integrated gate-commutated thyristors (IGCTs), are widely used in high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems. A key engineering challenge is managing their high heat flux density ( $\ge$ 40 W/cm ${}^{2}$ ). To address the cooling bottleneck for 5-kA IGCTs, this article proposes a novel water-cooled heat sink featuring an integrated zigzag-fin multiparallel serpentine (ZMPS) flow channel. By synergistically combining the merits of serpentine (enhanced heat transfer), parallel (reduced pressure drop), and spiral (improved temperature uniformity) channel designs, the ZMPS architecture effectively balances the inherent tradeoffs among thermal resistance, pressure drop, and temperature uniformity. Numerical simulations and experimental results demonstrate that, at a flow rate of 27 L/min, the ZMPS heat sink achieves a thermal resistance of 2.44 K/kW. Compared to a conventional straight-channel baseline, it reduces thermal resistance by 34.9%, improves temperature uniformity by 80%, and increases the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) by 2.2 times, all while maintaining an acceptable system pressure drop. The study validates the ZMPS design as an effective and practical thermal management solution for high-power electronic devices.