Development and performance study of a radiation-enhanced heat pipe radiator for cooling high-power IGBT modules

Thermal management of insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules presents an urgent challenge due to the increasing demand for efficient heat dissipation in more compact and powerful devices. Here, a novel radiation-enhanced heat pipe radiator (REHPR) is developed through the integration of a conventional gravity heat pipe radiator (HPR) with a coating of silica microspheres and graphene composites. This composite coating features a high mid-infrared thermal emissivity (∊ = 0.93), significantly enhancing the heat dissipation of high-power IGBT modules. Comparative experiments and simulations between the REHPR and the uncoated HPR reveal that the REHPR outperforms the HPR in overall heat transfer due to enhanced radiation under various heat loads and ambient air velocity conditions. Notably, the start-up time and temperature rise of the REHPR are reduced by 9.0 % and 15.5 %, respectively, at an air velocity of 1 m/s and a heat load of 1,500 W. The junction temperature of the IGBT module can be reduced by 8.1 °C at 120 W under natural convection and by up to 6.8 °C at 1,500 W under forced convection. Furthermore, the total thermal resistance of the REHPR is 12.5 % lower than that of the HPR under high heat load scenarios (1,500 W) with forced convection. This work provides a unique and effective strategy for the thermal management of high-power heat sources that may have posed technical challenges due to space limitations, offering promising prospects in the electronic power industry.