| Considerable improvements in performance of semiconductor devices have been made in recent years. However, they have resulted in consequent increase in power dissipation from these devices and created the need for new and improved cooling solutions. Additionally, similar improvements in electronics packaging design and manufacturing have led to increased density of components on PCBs. This has resulted in increased temperatures for entire systems, requiring system level thermal management and optimization. Developing new thermal solutions and optimizing existing technologies have traditionally involved only experimental analysis, but in recent years numerical analysis using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques are increasingly being used for the same. For complex systems, however, validating a CFD model with experimental data is essential before using it for further design and development. This study examines and illustrates the use of commercially available CFD code in developing and optimizing thermal management solutions. |
