Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks

There is an increasing need for low profile thermal management solutions for applications in the range of 5-10 W, targeted at portable electronic devices. This need is emerging due to enhanced power dissipation levels in portable electronics, such as mobile phones, portable gaming machines, and ultr...

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Main Authors: Walsh, E, Walsh, P, Grimes, R, Egan, V
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: 2008
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author Walsh, E
Walsh, P
Grimes, R
Egan, V
author_facet Walsh, E
Walsh, P
Grimes, R
Egan, V
author_sort Walsh, E
collection OXFORD
description There is an increasing need for low profile thermal management solutions for applications in the range of 5-10 W, targeted at portable electronic devices. This need is emerging due to enhanced power dissipation levels in portable electronics, such as mobile phones, portable gaming machines, and ultraportable personal computers. This work focuses on the optimization of such a solution within the constraints of the profile and footprint area. A number of fan geometries have been investigated where both the inlet and exit rotor angles are varied relative to the heat conducting fins on a heat sink. The ratio of the fan diameter to the heat sink fin length was also varied. The objective was to determine the optimal solution from a thermal management perspective within the defined constraints. The results show a good thermal performance and highlight the need to develop the heat sink and fan as an integrated thermal solution rather than in isolation as is the traditional methodology. An interesting finding is that the heat transfer scales are in line with turbulent rather than laminar correlations despite the low Reynolds number. It is also found that while increasing the pumping power generally improves the thermal performance, only small gains are achieved for relatively large pumping power increases. This is important in optimizing portable systems where reduced power consumption is a competitive advantage in the marketplace. © 2008 by ASME.
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spelling oxford-uuid:22ddcf29-f40b-4ea2-b113-b1e2af7eda462022-03-26T11:40:59ZThermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat SinksJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:22ddcf29-f40b-4ea2-b113-b1e2af7eda46EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2008Walsh, EWalsh, PGrimes, REgan, VThere is an increasing need for low profile thermal management solutions for applications in the range of 5-10 W, targeted at portable electronic devices. This need is emerging due to enhanced power dissipation levels in portable electronics, such as mobile phones, portable gaming machines, and ultraportable personal computers. This work focuses on the optimization of such a solution within the constraints of the profile and footprint area. A number of fan geometries have been investigated where both the inlet and exit rotor angles are varied relative to the heat conducting fins on a heat sink. The ratio of the fan diameter to the heat sink fin length was also varied. The objective was to determine the optimal solution from a thermal management perspective within the defined constraints. The results show a good thermal performance and highlight the need to develop the heat sink and fan as an integrated thermal solution rather than in isolation as is the traditional methodology. An interesting finding is that the heat transfer scales are in line with turbulent rather than laminar correlations despite the low Reynolds number. It is also found that while increasing the pumping power generally improves the thermal performance, only small gains are achieved for relatively large pumping power increases. This is important in optimizing portable systems where reduced power consumption is a competitive advantage in the marketplace. © 2008 by ASME.
spellingShingle Walsh, E
Walsh, P
Grimes, R
Egan, V
Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title_full Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title_fullStr Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title_full_unstemmed Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title_short Thermal Management of Low Profile Electronic Equipment Using Radial Fans and Heat Sinks
title_sort thermal management of low profile electronic equipment using radial fans and heat sinks
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AT walshp thermalmanagementoflowprofileelectronicequipmentusingradialfansandheatsinks
AT grimesr thermalmanagementoflowprofileelectronicequipmentusingradialfansandheatsinks
AT eganv thermalmanagementoflowprofileelectronicequipmentusingradialfansandheatsinks