Simulation for Power Electronics Engineers

Practical workflows for structural, thermal, and electromagnetic analysis of power electronics hardware — heatsinks, PCBs, enclosures, busbars, and transformers. All examples are worked in ANSYS. The approach applies to any FEA or CFD tool.

For engineers who already understand power electronics and need to build simulation capability. No prior FEA experience assumed. Start at Phase 1 or jump to the analysis type you need.

Jump to simulation type
Seven phases

Start at Phase 1 or reference any phase independently

Phases build in sequence — geometry first, then meshing, then analysis. Each section also stands alone as a reference when you need one specific technique mid-project.

  1. Phase 01

    Orientation

    The simulation tool landscape, how a project manager connects analysis tools, and how to keep files organized — including the archive format and when to save results versus setup only.

    • Tool landscape
    • Project structure
    • File types
    • Archiving

    Start here — no prerequisites

    Open phase →
  2. Phase 02

    Geometry Preparation

    CAD import, identifying mesh-hostile geometry, defeaturing for structural, thermal, and electromagnetic analyses. Geometry repair and shared topology at part interfaces.

    • CAD import
    • Defeaturing
    • Fluid volumes
    • Topology sharing

    Prerequisite: Phase 1

    Open phase →
  3. Phase 03

    Meshing

    Quality metrics and targets, global vs. local sizing strategy, mesh methods, inflation layers. Diagnosing failure and improving poor quality — including the feedback loop between mesh metrics and geometry repair.

    • Quality metrics
    • Sizing strategy
    • Mesh methods
    • Troubleshooting

    Prerequisite: Phase 2

    Open phase →
  4. Phase 04

    Structural and Thermal Analyses

    Static structural, modal and random vibration, steady-state thermal with CTE-driven stress, plastic deformation, and solver troubleshooting. Includes mesh convergence study method.

    • Static stress
    • Modal & RSD
    • Thermal coupling
    • Solver convergence

    Prerequisite: Phase 3

    Open phase →
  5. Phase 05

    Thermal CFD

    Conjugate heat transfer for electronics cooling: model construction, compact thermal models, forced convection, parametric heatsink studies, hardware correlation, superposition, and pre-analysis engineering calculations.

    • Conjugate HT
    • Compact models
    • Fan optimization
    • Hardware correlation

    Prerequisite: Phase 3; Phase 4 helpful

    Open phase →
  6. Phase 06

    Electromagnetic Analysis

    DC conduction and joule heating, eddy current losses at frequency, magnetostatic inductance, transformer winding and core losses, adaptive meshing, and exporting loss maps to thermal analysis.

    • DC conduction
    • Eddy current
    • Transformer losses
    • Loss export

    Prerequisite: Phase 3

    Open phase →
  7. Phase 07

    Multi-Physics and Results

    Linking electromagnetic and thermal analyses, tracing a design change through the full analysis chain, and communicating simulation results at a design review. When results are trustworthy and how to say so clearly.

    • Coupled analysis
    • Design iteration
    • Result reporting

    Recommended: Phases 4–6 first

    Open phase →