Thermal Characterization and Lifetime Prediction of LED Boards for SSL Lamp

Abstract

This work presents a detailed 3-D thermo-mechanical modelling of two LED board technologies to compare their performance. LED board are considered to be used in high power 800 lumen retrofit SSL (Solid State Lighting) lamp. Thermal, mechanical and life time properties are evaluated by numerical modelling. Experimental results measured on fabricated LED board samples are compared to calculated data. Main role of LED board in SSL lamp is to transport heat from LED die to a heat sink and keep the thermal stresses in all layers as low as possible. The work focuses on improving of new LED board thermal management. Moreover, reliability and lifetime of LED board has been inspected by numerical calculation and validated by experiment. Thermally induced stress has been studied for wide temperature range that can affect the LED boards (-40 to +125°C). Numerical modelling of thermal performance, thermal stress distribution and lifetime has been carried out with ANSYS structural analysis where temperature dependent stress-strain material properties have been taken into account. The objective of this study is to improve not only the thermal performance of new LED board, but also identification of potential problems from mechanical fatigue point of view. Accelerated lifetime testing (e.g., mechanical) is carried out in order to study the failure behaviour of current and newly developed LED board.