Power Transistor

Application ID: 8577


In every system where there is conduction of electric current, and where the conductivity of the material is finite, there will be electric heating. Electric heating, also referred to as Joule heating, is in many cases an undesired by-product of current conduction. This model simulates a system consisting of a small part of a circuit board containing a power transistor and the copper pathways connected to the transistor. The purpose of the simulation is to estimate the operating temperature of the transistor, which can be substantially higher than room temperature due to undesired electric heating. The power transistor, in this case an off-the-shelf product, can be mounted on a heat sink. However, in this simulation, we will investigate if heat sink mounting is necessary or if the operating temperature can be low enough to leave the system undamaged in the absence of a heat sink.

This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products: