Application: Grid Connect Inverter Cooling System
Status: Engineering Design Complete August 2019

A power electronics manufacturer contracted Powerexpert to design a closed loop liquid cooling system for a 1.25MW inverter.

The work included component selection, flow diagram, pressure drop vs flow modeling, thermal calculations, bill of material, and mechanical design support. Components included valves, manifolds, piping, hoses, pressure and temperature gauges, pressure and flow/temperature transducers, an air separator, a pressure relief valve, a temperature controlled mixing valve, expansion tank, strainer, pump, and remote air to water heat exchanger.

A spreadsheet tool was developed for determining the system flow and pressure operating point under different operating conditions (strainer condition, 50/60Hz pump operation, mixing valve position) was developed that included calculation of heat load parallel path flows as well as meter/transducer values and various temperatures & pressures throughout the system. System coolant volume, fill pump head, and a fill procedure were also provided to the customer. A final comprehensive presentation was provided to the customer that summarized the work performed.

The system was successfully started up and met all performance expectations.