Thermal phenomena in compact electronic enclosures: a numerical study

Thermal phenomena in passively cooled compact electronic enclosures is numerically investigated in this study. Coupled heat transfer and fluid flow is considered. Conduction in the components and enclosure walls, and convection in the fluid is accounted for in the model. The governing steady-state nondimensional equations with appropriate boundary conditions are solved using finite volume formulation. Uniform energy generation is assumed in the components. Computations are performed for a range of power dissipation levels, component thermophysical properties, component configurations and internal enclosure volume available for natural convection in an enclosure with or without vents. Baseline computations are performed for an enclosure with a centrally located component. Lower maximum component temperatures are produced in vented enclosures for low power dissipation, high component thermal conductivity and continuous component configuration. The results of this parametric study are used to develop an empirical correlation for the maximum component temperature in the enclosure