Heat transfer model for capacitor banks

Abstract

The life expectancy of aluminum electrolytic capacitors used for DC bus filtering in motor drives depends upon their operating temperature. This paper discusses convection and radiation heat transfer from capacitor banks and presents a heat transfer model for banks of capacitors that can be used to estimate temperature rise. The model is verified with experimental data and is further extended by using computational fluid dynamics and radiation theory. Bank design options are explored for their impact on bank cooling efficiency.