Abstract
A novel 3-D real-time animated thermal CAD system for electronics multilayer structures having interfacial contact resistances integrated with a compact cold plate has been successfully developed on Microsoft Windows 2000 system. The thermal CAD system is composed of pre-processor subsystem, thermal analyzer, post-processor subsystem and relevant user interfaces and databases. The fundamental design concepts for the developed pre-processor, thermal analyzer, and post-processor are introduced. The developed pre-processor has six options such as the selection of heat sources, multilayer structures, cold-plate core, working fluid, ambient conditions, and current data. The effect of thermal contact resistance between contact solids has been considered in the thermal analyzer. In addition, a new set of curve-fitting correlations related to the dimensionless pumping power factor (F) and heat transfer performance factor (J) have also been installed in the analyzer. The post-processor can interactively generate real-time color isotherms on the heated surface of 3-D cold-plate model. Furthermore, new multimedia technologies with OpenGL libraries, such as graphical illustrations and real-time 3-D visualization, employed in the present developed CAD system provide a very friendly and interactive interface for users. To explore the parameters and conditions influencing thermal performance, a series of parametric studies have been systematically performed. The parameters and conditions explored include the size and heat dissipation rate of heat sources, the first-layer material of multilayer structures, contact conditions between multilayer structures, type of core configuration, coolant properties and type of convection at external ambient. With the developed thermal CAD system, three practical thermal design cases for multilayer structures integrated with a compact cold plate have been studied. The superiority of the developed CAD system has been demonstrated.