Lumped block package representation makes the best use of limited available data to simulate for an ‘indication’ of case temperature. Some indication is better than none but I wouldn’t bet on it, really, I wouldn’t. Accurate case and junction temperature prediction can only be realised with either a fully 3D detailed representation or an abstracted CTM … [Read more...]
What’s black and stuck on a PCB?
Hmmm… If you’re guessing it’s a chip package, you’re right – got it in one. Well done! OK, so what type of package is it? If you’re thinking it’s a silly question as you don’t know anything about the package, other than I’ve told you its black - that was a hint that it’s an encapsulated plastic part by the way - you’d be right. You’d need me to tell you if it had leads, and if … [Read more...]
The Better Box Model
Introduction For the consumer, natural convection cooling or fan-less cooling is the method of choice. It is silent, it is reliable, it is simple, and it is environmentally sound because no additional energy is used to remove the excess heat. For the thermal engineer, fan-less cooling is more problematic. On the plus side, no fan is needed, so there is an attractive cost … [Read more...]
Cooling of a Flat TV Monitor
Thermal design in the consumer electronics business is about dealing with two difficult challenges: The first is to fulfill, and if possible surpass, customer expectations. The second is to do this in ever shortening design cycles. After a main initial use of flat displays as computer monitors, larger flat display screens are now emerging for video purposes: the Flat TV. … [Read more...]
The treacherous streams
During the development of a telecommunications product, an unpredictable phenomenon of air streams within the maze of cards and module was encountered. It could only be compared to suddenly confronting powerful inner streams in a calm ocean. Unlike the ocean, however, these streams appeared in a man-made machine. It seemed as if someone had rewritten the laws of physics. It was … [Read more...]
