Joule Heating in High-current Battery Clamps in a Circuit
This model analyzes a car battery-charger circuit where the cables and clamps are modeled using the finite element method. They experience high current that results in Joule heating that in turn affects the conductivity of their materials.Use of the new SPICE Import interface in COMSOL Multiphysics 3.4’s AC/DC Module allows for two instances to be analyzed in the one simulation. This makes it possible to analyze the potential and thermal distributions in the cables to the plus side and from the minus side, at variable battery voltages, in the one simulation, without having to re-define the finite element model.
| Schematic picture of the circuit, the color plot on the clips shows the temperature distribution at the same color scale illustrating the much higher temperature on the plus side. |
Engineering Fields
- Electronics & Power Systems Cooling
- Multiphysics
- Electrostatic & Magnetostatics Applications
Application Areas
- Heat Transfer
- Electro- & Magnetostatics
- AC/DC Systems