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A Multiscale Thermo-Fluid Computational Model for a Two-Phase Cooling System
In this paper, we describe a mathematical model and a numerical simulation
method for the condenser component of a novel two-phase thermosyphon cooling
system for power electronics applications. The condenser consists of a set of
roll-bonded vertically mounted fins among which air flows by either natural or
forced convection. In order to deepen the understanding of the mechanisms that
determine the performance of the condenser and to facilitate the further
optimization of its industrial design, a multiscale approach is developed to
reduce as much as possible the complexity of the simulation code while
maintaining reasonable predictive accuracy. To this end, heat diffusion in the
fins and its convective transport in air are modeled as 2D processes while the
flow of the two-phase coolant within the fins is modeled as a 1D network of
pipes. For the numerical solution of the resulting equations, a Dual
Mixed-Finite Volume scheme with Exponential Fitting stabilization is used for
2D heat diffusion and convection while a Primal Mixed Finite Element
discretization method with upwind stabilization is used for the 1D coolant
flow. The mathematical model and the numerical method are validated through
extensive simulations of realistic device structures which prove to be in
excellent agreement with available experimental data
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