Electrical-thermal modeling for electrical assemblies using the finite element method

Abstract

The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) method is used to perform coupled Electrical-Thermal analyses of automotive electrical assemblies. An assembly consisting of a fuse, terminal and electrical wires is evaluated in the study. A procedure to conduct the analyses using the Patran 3 Finite Element Modeling software and the ABAQUS FEA software is developed and used to preform the analyses. The analyses is conducted on every component of the assembly individually and also on the complete assembly. The analyses includes a representative finite element model for the electrical as well as the thermal contract resistance between the terminal and the fuse blades. The analyses procedure consists of three steps. The first step is to perform the electrical analyses in order to obtain the electric current density and voltage potential. The second step is to calculate the power distribution based on the current density. The third step is the heat transfer analyses using the power distribution as input to obtain the temperature distribution in the electrical assembly. Experimental study for the components of the assembly as well as the assembly itself is completed. Hand calculations are performed for the electrical wire in order to validate the procedure. The results of the experimental work and the FEA analyses are tabulated and compared. The FEA results correlates well with the experimental study for the components and the assembly. The FEA results also correlate well with the hand calculations in the case of the electrical wire analysis.