Motivations for Thermal Simulation
Calculate losses
Reduce development time
Predict performance and investigate key tradeoffs early in the
design process
Thermal measurements can be difficult and time consuming
Sources of Thermal Losses
Passive components
Resistive power loss: ploss(t) = vR(t)*iR(t)
Loads e.g. brake resistors
Filters
Winding resistance
Power semiconductors
Conduction loss
Switching loss
Semiconductor Losses
Gate signal
Switching loss
Conduction loss
Switching Losses
Switching energy loss dependent on:
Blocking voltage, device current, junction temperature, gate drive
Eon = f(vce, ic, Tj, Rg)
Turn on Turn off
Example IGCT Turn-off: Varying Stray Inductance
kA 3.0 300 nH (10.5 Ws) 4.5 kV
Parasitics affect Current
800 nH (12 Ws)
transient waveforms, 1500 nH (13.5 Ws)
which influence losses
2.0 3.0
Voltage
1.0 1.5
0.0 0.0
5 10 15 μs
Courtesy ABB
Switching Loss Calculation from Transients
Accurate physical device models are required
Often are unavailable
Physical parameters often unknown during design phase
Stray inductance of PCB
Small simulation steps required
Large computation times
Lookup Table Approach for Switching Losses
Instantaneous switching maintained for speed
Switching losses are read from a database after switching event
Esw = f(Tj, vblock, ion)
PLECS
Example Lookup Table in PLECS Thermal Editor
Turn on/off loss a function of:
Current before switching
Voltage after switching
Temperature at switching
Exact loss found using interpolation
Additional dependencies can be
included
Variation of losses with gate drive resistance
Losses can be described with
custom formulas
Conduction Losses
On-state loss
Conduction profile is nonlinear:
von = f(ion, Tj)
Conduction profile also stored in lookup table
Exact voltage found using interpolation
Conduction power loss:
ploss(t) = von(t) ion(t)
Off-state loss
Negligible - low leakage current
Simulation of an Electrical-Thermal Model
Thermal and electrical circuits
solved simultaneously
I and V applied to switches are
supplied to lookup tables
after a switching event
Calculated losses are then
added to thermal circuit
Temperatures are fed back to
lookup tables for next event
Semiconductor Thermal Behavior
Conduction losses directly 1.5
Sw signal
affect the temperature
1
0.5
Switching losses are added
0
Conduction Loss
as an energy impulse 200
100
after each event 0
× 1e-3 Switching Loss
0
Temperature
49.94
49.94
49.93
3.698 3.699 3.699 3.7 × 1e-1
Obtaining Switching Loss Data for Lookup Tables
Experimental measurements
Switching losses highly dependent on gate drive circuit and stray parameters
Use a switching loss setup to characterize loss dependency on V and I for two temperatures
Data sheets
Given for a specific gate resistance and stray inductance
Good approximations can be made by extrapolating manufacturers data
Manufacturer provided
Several vendors provide PLECS thermal models for download or on request
Creating Approximate IGBT Loss Tables
Example data sheet with specific test conditions
Data can be extrapolated for different conditions
Dynex DIM400BSS12 - 25∘C
IGBT Switching Losses vs. Current
Switching loss vs. current often
provided in data sheets
If not, assume Eon, Eoff vs. current is
linear
Reverse recovery loss (Erec) of diode
saturates with higher currents
Source: Dynex DIM400BSS12 data sheet
IGBT Switching Losses vs. Voltage
Switching loss vs. voltage not
always provided in data sheets
Safe to assume Eon, Eoff vs. voltage
is linear
Diode Recovery Loss vs. Voltage
Diode recovery loss vs. voltage not
always provided in data sheets
Safe to assume a linear relationship
as a first pass
As the gate resistance increases,
there is a saturation effect in the
energy loss
ABB 5SNS0300U120100 IGBT module Ic = 300A
Approximate MOSFET Switching Loss Definition
Switching loss calculation
trise, tfall calculated from VDD, VGS, RG, CGD,
details are in the reference below
Temperature independence can be
initially assumed
MOSFET Conduction Losses
Temperature-dependent Ron can be
implemented with a lookup table using
information from the data sheet
Resistance can be converted to a
current-voltage profile in PLECS
Electrical parameter for Rds is held
constant during a switching cycle
A Variable Resistor block can be placed
in series with a MOSFET to physically
implement Rds
Example 650V, 47A MOSFET
A Combined Electrical-Thermal Model
Losses, heat sink, ambient temperature are represented in
PLECS in an intuitive analogy
Thermal Domain
Thermal circuit is analogous to electrical circuit
Thermal and electrical circuits solved simultaneously
Electrical-Thermal Model Interface
The heat sink is the interface between the two domains
Automatically absorbs component losses
Propagates temperature back to semiconductors
Thermal impedance modeled with RC elements
Hierarchical Modeling of Thermal Structures
It is possible to implement layered thermal
structures using subsystems
Junctions Dual IGBT module
IGBT Plate
Heat Sink
IGBT Plate
Thermal Equivalent Network Options in Thermal Editor
Cauer equivalent network Foster equivalent network
Physics based thermal equivalent circuit Curve fitting approach based on heating
Each Rth and Cth pair represents a and cooling characteristics
No correspondence between Rth,n resp.
physical layer in the thermal circuit
Cth,n and the physical structure!
Any modification of the system requires
recalculation of all values
Junction-Case Thermal Impedance
Define in Thermal Editor to observe junction temperature
fluctuations (in the 4th tab)
Foster coefficients are often given in a data sheet
Foster network coefficients
Example junction-case thermal impedance
Measuring Average Device Losses
Concept
Calculate total conduction and switching
energy lost during a switching cycle
Output total as an average power pulse
during the next cycle
Implementation in PLECS
Conduction and switching losses are
measured with a Probe block
Filter blocks for averaging the conduction
(Periodic Average) and switching (Periodic
Impulse Average) losses are in the library
Calculating Converter Efficiency
Thermal losses are not withdrawn in electric circuit
Semiconductor losses can be probed or a Heat Flow Meter can
calculate switch (and ohmic losses) captured by a heat sink
The correct way to calculate efficiency of a converter in PLECS is:
Challenge: Large Thermal Time Constants
Thermal time constants: 0.1 … 100 s
Switching frequency: 1 … 100 kHz
Long simulation time until thermal steady state is reached
Steady-State Analysis Tool
Quickly finds the steady-state operating temperatures using a
Newton Raphson technique
Conclusion
Fast & accurate thermal simulation using lookup tables
Operation of a combined electrical-thermal simulation
Calculating average device losses
Steady-State Analysis tool built in to PLECS
