Thermal management of silicon carbide power module for military hybrid vehicles

De-rating of power electronics is a common practice in harsh environment operating conditions. Advanced cooling solutions are needed to overcome the thermal limitations and prevent the de-rating of power components. This study investigates a silicon carbide power module for 28 V DC to 300 V DC power conversion (or reverse) in military hybrid vehicle applications. A combined experimental and numerical modeling effort is reported, to accurately predict the silicon carbide switch (device) junction temperature. The results show that jet impingement cooling at the module base plate increases the module heat dissipation capability by 2.5X and 1.5X, compared to the commercial-off-the-shelf cold plate cooling and micro-channel cooling solutions respectively.