Introduction High altitude air cooling has always been somewhat of a mystery to the uninformed. The first reaction to the situation is that there is just not enough air at altitudes greater than six kilometers (20,000 ft). At times this may be true, but many things can be done to improve the cooling and obtain an acceptable design. The most important thing to remember when … [Read more...]
Forced convection cooling inside an electronics enclosure
Introduction One of the more complex thermal problems in electronics is the modeling of complete systems, such as an enclosure containing electronic components. A typical example would be a power supply, including heat sinks and a cooling fan. This problem becomes more difficult when there are multiple heat sinks and other large components arranged in an arbitrary manner inside … [Read more...]
Interaction of the system and module-level thermal phenomena- a flip-chip/BGA example
Fig. 1: Levels in a computer environment. Introduction Increasing demands for higher performance in microprocessors have a direct effect on chip power and heat generation. Increased function and miniaturization of the packages result in thermal challenges that require a thorough understanding of the system's thermal performance under all possible field conditions. Regardless … [Read more...]
Fan selection – quick techniques to compare various tube-axial fan designs
The worldwide market for tube-axial fans is very large and, as a consequence, the number of tube-axial suppliers is significant. This article will focus on the techniques that can be used to quickly compare various tube-axial fan product offerings, in order to provide a quick screen and minimize the number of suppliers that are submitted to a detailed evaluation. Supplier … [Read more...]
Forced convection cooling of airborne electronics
Figure 1. AFT description Fin pitch = 25.01 per in = 985 per mPlate spacing, b = 0.200 in = 5.08 x 10-3 m Fin Length = 0.111 in = 2.8 x 10-3 m Flow passage hydraulic diameter 4rh = 0.004905 ft = 1.50 x 10-3 m Fin metal thickness = 0.004 in = 0.102 x 10-3 m Total heat transfer area/volume between plates, ß = 719.4 ft2 / ft3 = 2,360 m2 / m3 Fin area / total area = … [Read more...]
