Title:
"System-Level Thermal Design for Electronics Cooling "
with Dr. Suhas Patankar, Univ. of Minnesota & Innovative Research, Inc.

INFORMATION:
Register using the form below. Contact Paul Wesling by email, or at (408) 285-9555.

OVERVIEW:
The course will begin with a discussion of the importance of thermal design in electronics systems. The design considerations will be divided into board-level and system-level problems. Available approaches and software tools for the two types of analyses will be discussed. The focus will then be turned to System-Level design.

The System-Level problems are characterized by complex arrangements of different components such as screens, filters, fans, ducts, bends, heat sinks, power supplies, and card arrays. The challenge for the thermal engineer is to ensure that all the critical components get adequate cooling flow and remain at acceptable temperatures. The seminar will describe three possible approaches to analysis/design: (a) Hand calculations or spreadsheets, (b) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), and (c) Flow Network Modeling (FNM). Benefits and drawbacks of these techniques will be discussed. The last technique would be developed in detail because it provides a fast and flexible approach for system level thermal design.

The FNM technique can be used for the design of different types of air- or liquid-cooled electronics systems including desktop and high-end computers, telecom cabinets, power electronics, avionics, and peripheral devices. FNM allows the thermal/mechanical engineer to quickly evaluate different physical layouts, identify performance-limiting components, and predict system-wide implications of any design change.

Application of the FNM technique in electronics cooling problems will be demonstrated through the use of MacroFlow, a software product that implements FNM. During the demonstration, a number of electronics systems will be set up, solved, and their results examined, all in a matter of minutes. Also, variation of design and operating conditions for these systems and their effect on the system behavior will be demonstrated. The demonstration will show how various "what-if" scenarios can be quickly proposed and executed. The attendee will also get a chance to use MacroFlow in the hands-on session, with each attendee having a 700-MHz Pentium system with the software installed.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Product design engineers (Thermal, Mechanical, and Electrical) involved with design of electronics systems such as desktop and high-end computers, telecom cabinets, power electronics, avionics, and peripheral devices. Project managers will also greatly benefit from the course.

OUTLINE:

Morning Overview: Importance of thermal design. Board-level and system-level design. Available software tools for board-level analysis. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Software tools for CFD. Basic Concepts of Flow and Heat transfer: Mass and momentum conservation. Pressure drop and flow resistance. Fan curves. Heat transfer coefficients. Theory of Flow Network Modeling (FNM): Representation of cooling systems as flow networks. Flow resistances for common components. The equations to be solved. Solution procedure.

Demonstration of MacroFlow (a software product that employs the FNM technique): Set up of common electronics systems as flow networks, definition of component behavior, solution of flow and heat transfer, examination of results. Lunch (in the Compaq cafeteria) Afternoon Further Details. Case Studies, Validation of FNM Complementary Use of FNM and CFD. Hands-On Session. A variety of exercises using MacroFlow for simple and complex electronics systems. Each attendee will have a 700-MHz Pentium PC.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. Suhas V. Patankar is the founder and president of Innovative Research, Inc. He is also a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. His research activities include the development of computational techniques for fluid flow and heat transfer and their application to industrial problems. He has authored or co-authored four books on the subject, published over 100 papers, advised 35 completed Ph.D. theses, and lectured extensively in the USA and abroad.

Dr. Patankar received his Ph.D. from Imperial College, London. He has held teaching and research positions at IIT, Kanpur, Imperial College, and University of Waterloo. For excellence in teaching, he received the 1983 George Taylor Distinguished Teaching Award and the 1989-90 Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. For his research contributions to computational heat transfer, he was given the 1991 ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award and the 1997 Classic Paper Award.

HOW TO REGISTER:
FEE: $95 for IEEE members; $125 for non-members

For credit card payment, please use our secure PayPal account:

Registration for IEEE Members ($95):
Registration for Non-Members ($125):

Paul Wesling
12250 Saraglen Drive
Saratoga CA 95070

Your registration will be confirmed by email or FAX, with a map to the class location. For status, or to pre-register by phone, call 408-285-9555.

CANCELLATION: Refunds OK through Sept. 10. Substitutions allowed.