In today's electronics equipment, total system dissipated power levels are increasing with every new design. Increases in power levels combined with the market expectation of reduced package sizes lead to heat problems that, if uncontrolled, can significantly shorten the life of the electronics. Although this "increased power - decreased size" scenario has been prevalent for … [Read more...]
Natural convection modeling of heat sinks using web-based tools
Heat transfer in electronic packages is a complex problem involving a network of resistive paths for the various laminated structures, bonding adhesives, lead frames, and attachment mechanisms, such as ball grid arrays. However, despite the multitude of materials and interfaces within an electronic package, the largest thermal resistance, and consequently the controlling … [Read more...]
Heat pipe fundamentals
The use of heat pipes in thermal management is increasing rapidly as power densities in electronics continue to rise. Heat pipes are attractive because they can typically carry 100 or more times as much heat as an equivalent piece of solid copper. The basic principle of heat pipe operation is very simple. A small amount of working fluid, typically water, is sealed inside a … [Read more...]
Heat Pipes for Electronics Cooling Applications
Figure 1: Heat pipe operation Introduction All electronic components, from microprocessors to high end powerconverters, generate heat and rejection of this heat is necessary for theiroptimum and reliable operation. As electronic design allows higher throughputin smaller packages, dissipating the heat load becomes a critical design factor. Many of today's electronic devices … [Read more...]
Thermal control of space electronics
Introduction Telecommunication satellites are all based on the same overall design usinga 3 axis stabilization process, in which the North and South panels act asradiators and so ensure heat removal. This basic principle is illustrated in Figure 1. The ever-increasing demandfor national and international space-based communications in parallel with theevolution of space … [Read more...]
