I was doing my Sunday morning (2 a.m.) radio call-in show about electronics cooling (Hot Air on the Air with Tony K), when I heard a familiar voice on the line. "Herbie in Hereford," I greeted the caller, "You're on the air with Hot Air." "First time caller, long time listener . . .," the caller said. "Wow. There must be an insomnia epidemic," I interrupted. Johnny, the … [Read more...]
Low Noise Axial Fan Applications
There are three basics to creating low-noise axial fan applications: airflow path design initial fan design analysis and correction of specific acoustical responses in the physical model Each is important and contributes to the overall sound levels of the program. Figure 1. Representative flow-versus-pressure characteristic of system air path.A flow-versus-pressure … [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...]
Minimizing acoustical noise in electronic systems
Introduction Air-moving devices (AMDs), such as fans and blowers used for cooling inelectronic systems invariably generate acoustical noise which must be consideredif people are exposed to the emitted noise. In this article, we discussquantitative measures for the description of noise, design guidelines for theselection of low noise air movers, upper limits for the noise … [Read more...]
Fan cooled enclosure analysis using a first order method
Introduction Most Electronics Packaging Engineers and Analysis Specialists have access toa wide range of high quality analysis tools. While a few computer programs useanalytical methods, the majority are based on numerical analysis techniques.Although these programs are becoming easier to use, they typically requireconsiderable skill, and they are certainly capable of producing … [Read more...]
