A frequency converter is a control device that uses the switching action of power semiconductor devices to convert mains frequency power into electrical energy of another frequency. It can achieve functions such as soft starting of AC asynchronous motors, variable frequency speed regulation, improved operating accuracy, power factor correction, and overcurrent/overvoltage/overload protection. However, frequency converters will generate heat after prolonged operation. So how should this problem be handled? Is your approach correct?
1. Increase the power of the equipment control system components (i.e., increase the capacity of the components, reduce the heat generated by the heat-generating components, and reduce the heat dissipation time between the heat source and its own metal casing).
Disadvantages: slow heat dissipation, large size, and cannot be installed with frequency converters.
2. Increase the heat dissipation diameter of the metal sealed enclosure and use a forced air cooling fan to force heat dissipation from the metal sealed enclosure.
Disadvantages: High production cost, difficult maintenance, and inability to install frequency converters.
3. Add water pipes to the metal-sealed enclosure to allow the water to carry away the heat from the metal-sealed enclosure as it flows through the water pipes.
Disadvantages: High production costs, difficult maintenance, and frequent replacement of large amounts of cooling water.
4. Heat pipe heat dissipation: The heating element in the metal sealed enclosure is attached to one end of the heat pipe in the enclosure, and the heat is transferred to the outside of the metal sealed enclosure by the medium in the heat pipe.
Disadvantages: Large size, high production cost, difficult maintenance, and high requirements for ambient temperature (must be below 25℃, generally used in mines).
The root cause of this major drawback is that both require a thick, sealed, explosion-proof metal enclosure as a medium to exchange internal heat with the outside. Although the latter uses forced air cooling, forced water cooling, or heat pipe media, the heat exchange speed is still far from meeting the working environment requirements of industrial equipment control systems in the explosion-proof field (slow heat dissipation, easy aging of components, and short service life). Moreover, the above working principle only involves heat dissipation.
