Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2024 - 12

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
THERMAL MANAGEMENT | ELECTRIFICATION
Thermal management for off-highway vehicles
State-of-the-art
component technology
continues to be developed
to meet the constantly
rising power requirements
for today's off-highway
electric vehicles.
The cold plate with liquid
cooling allows for greater flexibility
on the location of the transducer if an
active cooling circuit is available.
As demand increases for electric and
hybrid technology advancements in
the North American market, off-highway
vehicles are subject to many challenges.
These range from vibration and
shock impacts on the vehicles, to thermal
stress and adverse environmental
conditions such as water, ice, humidity,
dust and grime.
Like all power electronics, waste heat
in mobile applications must be dissipated
to avoid costly malfunctions and
shutdowns. The failure to disperse this
heat could result in the vehicle needing
to be switched off for a period, thereby
creating a disruption for the end user.
For construction machinery, any amount
of downtime is not good for business.
The good news is state-of-the-art
component technology continues to be
developed to meet the constantly rising
power requirements for today's off-highway
electric vehicles. The latest developments
in contact cooling and other options
including heatsink usage and cold
plate solutions for converters can solve
the thermal-management challenges.
Contact cooling is the most affordable
and convenient way to install highperforming
converters that manage
thermal stress challenges. Choosing the
right cooling system solution starts by
looking at the installation. Mounting the
converters to any heat-conducting sur12
April 2024
face is sufficient for standard usage, but
sometimes this approach is not an option.
A possible solution is if the transducer
can be attached in a space with
an approximate length and width of
11.75-inches (300 x 300 mm).
There are other benefits that make
contact cooling attractive. In addition to
an easy installation process and being
very cost effective, there are the maintenance-free
aspects to consider.
However, there are times when this approach
is not an option. That's where
using a heatsink might be a viable and
helpful option. Heatsinks are especially
valuable for their passive cooling and
space-saving capabilities, and they also
are maintenance-free.
In cases where there is insufficient
surface space available on the application
for contact cooling, a heatsink can
be used if there is good airflow available.
An example would be with a vehicle
in motion where the airflow is favorable,
the converter should be
mounted in a place where the heatsink
is cooled by the airstream.
The case for cold plates
If adding a heatsink is not enough, a
cold plate solution with liquid cooling
would be the next step. A cold plate
offers high flexibility, can be integrated
into an existing controlled cooling system,
and functions in a wide range of
ambient environmental conditions. It
Heatsinks are especially valuable for their
passive cooling and space-saving capabilities.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: DEUTRONIC
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - April 2024

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