Thermal management challenges in forced convection tablets

Handheld devices with computing capabilities that match laptops and desktops have recently emerged as market drivers in the consumer electronics industry. To accommodate such high performance in small form-factors like that of a tablet is a thermal management challenge. In touch-interactive electronics devices like tablets, skin temperature is as important as the processor temperature. Cooling by natural convection alone is insufficient to address the higher power density found in this class of high-performance tablet. Therefore, these devices require forced convection solutions. This study presents the thermal management challenges of a forced convection tablet using experimental and computational techniques. One such thermal challenge stems from the blower speed versus ergonomic requirements of acoustics. To understand more about this relation, the tablet is experimentally characterized for acoustics for several controlled blower speeds. The tablet is also characterized using airflow bench tests, infrared thermography and thermocouple measurements. The system-level thermal model of the tablet is constructed using FloTHERM XT®. The validated model serves as a test vehicle to study alternate thermal management strategies and understand their impact on the overall product design.