Thermal-Electrical Modeling of Electrical Subsystems

This paper presents an approach combining electrical and thermal analyses to predict the thermal performance of electrical centers and junction blocks. On the component level, procedures are outlined for developing electrical and thermal models of electro-mechanical and circuit protection devices contained in Bussed Electrical Centers (BECs). Then a method for creating a system level steady state model of a BEC is discussed. Several BEC designs have been modeled using a largely automated process, and the predicted temperatures agree well with test results.