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    Software Tools

    T21.6 - Voxel-Based Implicit Solver for Automated Electro-Thermal Simulation

    Wednesday, March 25, 2026
    4:20 PM - 4:40 PM CT
    Location: 217A
    As power converters advance toward higher power density, accurate simulation of both electrical and thermal behaviors during design is increasingly important. Traditional methods and commercial tools often use simplified assumptions and iterative numerical solvers, limiting adaptability to new layouts and cooling strategies. This work introduces a voxel-based framework for coupled electro-thermal analysis, discretizing physical structures into a unified voxel grid for consistent modeling of heat and current flow with high flexibility. An implicit solver is developed to obtain steady-state solutions without numerical iteration, while a novel chunk-based meshing strategy enhances flexibility and supports automation. Admittance calculation across mesh boundaries further reduces computation time. Validation against Ansys Icepak shows a 3% error with 15× speedup, and experimental results from a heated multi-layer PCB confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.