Reliable operation of a new-generation high-voltage capacitor module requires precise thermal management, even under fault conditions. Mectalent supported GE Vernova’s product development team with thermal simulation that provided visibility into the module’s thermal behavior and enabled structural optimization at an early stage of development.
GE Vernova’s goal was to determine whether product performance could be improved by optimizing the thermal management of known bottleneck areas. With thermal simulation the product development project could be finished more efficiently.
Mectalent supports its customers in the early stages of product development by performing thermal and flow simulations, allowing thermal management risks to be identified and resolved before prototype manufacturing. Simulations enable structural optimization and comparison of design solutions, which speeds up development, reduces costs, and ensures safe product operation.
GE Vernova is a global energy technology company focused on electrification, power transmission, and the development of low-carbon energy solutions. They had an ongoing product development project and wanted to utilize thermal simulation. The objectives of the thermal simulation were to:
The collaboration began with defining operating conditions: design loads for the current model and future devices, allowable temperature limits, and the module’s environmental conditions. For the project, a detailed 3D model was built, including conductors, interfaces, and the bypass structure. The model was reviewed together with GE Vernova’s experts before starting the simulations.
The results of each simulation round were reviewed jointly with the customer’s experts. Boundary conditions, material parameters, and loads were verified to be correctly defined, and potential structural changes were tested directly in the simulations to assess their thermal impact.
Simulation results:
“Very likely, Mectalent’s simulation saved us one prototype and measurement iteration in the ongoing product development project,” comments Raimo Soukkala, technical director of the development project at GE Vernova.
“In the project, we aimed to improve our product’s performance, and based on our own measurements and evaluations, we had identified a bottleneck component in the product. Mectalent’s thermal simulations helped us understand the available design margin and ease that bottleneck.”
Through the project, GE Vernova obtained a clear and quantified thermal risk assessment already at an early stage of development. The results helped avoid late-stage design changes and improved reliability assessment by enhancing visibility into internal heat flow within the module. At the same time, improvements were identified that increased the structure’s thermal tolerance without additional costs, before any prototypes were manufactured.
Soukkala says that GE Vernova’s collaboration with Mectalent went smoothly. “The simulation results and their reporting provide a visually clear picture of the situation being studied,” he explains. “Originally, our intention was to use Mectalent’s services only to remove the product’s bottleneck, but in the end, we also used the data produced by Mectalent to optimize a couple of other areas of the product as well.”
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