PowerUP 2024

The PowerUP and Fortronic Conference and Exhibition is a free two day event that brings the latest developments in power electronics, debated by global industry leaders across keynotes, panels and technical talks.

Dr. Alexander Weyman, Research Scientist of Plexim, will present a fresh perspective on Foster and Cauer models.

Summary: In simulation, accurate thermal models are crucial for ensuring system reliability and efficiency. Lumped-element thermal chain models are a powerful tool for describing heat transfer. Our talk shows the steps from measuring Z_th-curves and creating thermal chains to state-of-the-art simulations.

Content: In modern simulations of power electronics, the integration of accurate thermal models has become an indispensable part of ensuring system reliability and efficiency. In practice, lumped-element thermal chain models have proven to be a powerful tool for the accurate description of heat transfer dynamics and junction temperature estimation. In this talk, we will discover how to avoid common pitfalls encountered when working with Foster- and Cauer-type thermal chains. Starting with the proper measurement of thermal impedance curves, we will move on to a description of the difficulties that arise in extracting suitable thermal chain parameters from these curves and the way to overcome them. Having obtained well-parametrized thermal chains, we will then demonstrate best practices for their use. By arriving at more advanced modeling principles of thermal cross-talk, we aim to provide a complete picture for the effective use of thermal chains to achieve state-of-the-art power electronics simulation.