Component placement optimizations on PCBs for improved thermal behaviour

The presented work investigates the thermal design process for electronic systems by studying the placement of critical components, which dissipate large amounts of heat. The research was done in order to define a “thermal placement outline” depending on the speed of the air flow when forced convection is used and on the base dimensions of the component. Several simulations were carried out using SolidWorks Flow Simulation tool, the speed of the air flow and the width of the component being varied. The air trajectory was studied, as well as the temperature at the PCB surface.