Aedt Icepak Int 2020r1 en Ws03.1

Introduction to Icepak in AEDT
Module 3 – Workshop 1: Model

Building with Icepak in AEDT - ECAD
Release 2020 R1
©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

Objectives
• Build an electronics system-level model

‐ Detailed Icepak objects: PCB, 3D Fans
‐ Assign boundary conditions
• Become familiar with the ECAD import process
‐ IDF file import options
‐ Trace import options
‐ View trace in PCB
‐ View metal fractions
• Generate a mesh
‐ Use manual settings to generate a mesh
• Run the simulation
• Use post-processing tools to analyze the solution
2 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.
Model Overview
• The model has the following generic components:

‐ 3D intake fans
‐ Outlet grille
‐ PCB with imported ECAD traces
‐ Detailed extruded heat sink
‐ Simple packages
‐ DDR memory
‐ Flash memory
• Using the model from Workshop 1, we will replace
‐ 2D fans → Detailed 3D fans
‐ Lumped PCB → Detailed PCB component with traces
‐ Simple package → Component in IDF file

Model Overview
Detailed heat sink
DDR Memory
Flash Memory
Grille
Packages
3D Intake fans Board with traces

AEDT Icepak: Getting Started
• Launch ANSYS Electronics Desktop (AEDT) from the start menu or the desktop shortcut
‐ Start → All Programs → ANSYS EM Suite 2020 R1 → ANSYS Electronics Desktop 2020 R1
• Go to File > Restore Archive and select “D1_WS1.aedtz”

• Save the project as “D2_WS1”

AEDT Icepak: Getting Started
• A project called D2_WS1 will be created in the Project Manager

• Expand the D2_WS1 project. An Icepak design called Electronics Chassis is available in this project
• Right-click Electronics Chassis and rename the design as Detailed Components
• AEDT automatically creates a new project when launched. In this example, a project called Project1 was
created when AEDT was first launched and this project is not needed for this workshop.
• Right-click Project1 and select Delete Project Permanently from Disk

Model from Workshop 1
• This is the model from Workshop 1

• It consists of 2D fans, and the PCB is
represented as a lumped block with
orthotropic thermal conductivity
• Press F6/F7 to switch the rendering
between wireframe and solid shading
modes

Changing Object Color
• To change the color of an object, double-click the object in the History Tree, or right-click the object and
go to Edit > Properties, to open the Properties panel
• Click on the “Color” graphic next to Color and a panel pops-up to choose the color
• After choosing the color, click Apply and OK to close the Color and Properties panels respectively
Note: Make sure the ‘Material Appearance’ option is disabled, to change the
color. (uncheck ‘Material Appearance’ option and click apply and OK, then
click Properties again to change color)
Create 3D Fan
• 2D fans from Day 1 workshop will be replaced with 3D fans

• In the History Tree, right-click on Fans and select Edit Definition
‐ All the fans listed under Fans (Fan1 and Fan2 in this model) will be updated through this approach
• Click Next in the Fan Component panel to get to the Geometry section
• Update the geometry as shown in the image below and click Next. (Proceed to the next slide)
3D Fan Inputs
Variable Value
Cross-section Y-Z
Radius 9.293mm
Hub Radius 3.293mm
Case Height 6mm
Case Size 26mm

Specify Fan Curve
• Change the Flow Type to Curve and click on Edit Curve to specify a fan curve
• In the Edit Dataset panel, specify the Volume Flow and Pressure data as shown in the table below
• Alternatively, click Import Dataset and select Fan_curve.tab file to import the fan curve data
• Click OK, Next and Finish to close the Edit Dataset and Fan Component panels respectively
Fan Curve Data

Volume Flow Pressure
(m3/s) (N/m2)
0 74.725
0.000141 64.761
0.000376 44.835
0.0005875 24.908
Note: 0.0006815 12.454
1. Both fans will be changed
2. Ambient temperature has been 0.0008225 0
set under Icepak Design Settings

Delete Original Geometry for Replacement
• This tutorial shows how to start from ECAD to create your board and components
• In the model geometry tree, select the Heatink1 component and all components under
Board_Material, Ceramic_material and HighConductivityMaterial
• Delete them

Import IDF File
• To import the IDF file, go to Icepak > Import IDF

• In the IDF Import panel, click … button and select A1.bdf file
• The library file is automatically populated (Proceed to the next slide)

Import IDF File
• Go to the Filters tab, then check By Power and Create filtered devices as non-model objects
• Go to the Modeling tab and select Simplify board as rectangular objects and Simplify all devices as
rectangular object
• Leave all defaults under the Board Conductivity tab (will be replaced by detailed PCB)
• Click OK to create the board and devices in IDF file

View Imported IDF file in the GUI
• The imported IDF file can be viewed in the 3D Modeler Window

• Since we applied the filter when importing the IDF file, all components in IDF file have
been set to Non-Model objects
• Right-click anywhere in the GUI and select View > Show Only Model Objects to view
only active objects
• Save the Project

Import ECAD File
• To import the ECAD file, go to File > Import > EDB and select the edb.def file
• AEDT creates a new project with the same name as the EDB folder (A1_uprev_edb),
and inserts a HFSS 3D Layout design called A1_uprev
Note: AEDT imports all ECAD files into a HFSS 3D Layout Design
View Traces in the GUI
• The imported ECAD file can be viewed in the 3D Modeler Window
• To view the ECAD file

in the GUI, make sure
that the HFSS 3D
Layout design is
selected in the
Project Manager
• Active design is
highlighted in bold in
the Project Manager

Copy the HFSS 3D Layout Design
• For the ECAD file to be used by Icepak, the HFSS 3D Layout Design and the Icepak Design MUST be located
under the same Project
• Right-click the A1_uprev Design under A1_uprev_edb Project and select Copy
• Right-click D2_WS1 Project (Destination project) and select Paste. This will copy the HFSS 3D Layout Design
to the same project as Icepak Design. This might take time depending on the size of the ECAD file (the
warning messages can be ignored in this step)
• After the design is copied, delete the A1_uprev_edb Project by right-clicking it and selecting “Delete Project
Permanently from Disk”
• Save the project

Shortcut
ECAD – Layers Stack-up
• To view the layer stack-up, go to Layout > Layers
• The Edit Layers panel provides information on the layers, materials and thickness

ECAD – Material Properties for Layers
• In the 2020 R1 version, materials should have all necessary properties for thermal analysis in the EDB file.
Still, it is important to verify that correct material properties have been defined for the simulations
• In the Edit Layers panel, click on any material and select Edit in the drop-down menu
• In the Select Definition panel, click on View/Edit Materials to view the material properties of the selected
material
• If using an older version, please review the Appendix on changing material properties
Note: By default, AEDT shows the

electromagnetic properties at the top

ECAD – Check Layer Thickness
• Check the thickness of all the layers as shown in the table below
• The total thickness should be 1.56464 mm, and this can be checked at the bottom of the Edit Layers panel
• Go to File > Save to save the project
• Click Apply and Close for the Layers panel Thickness (mm)
0
0.01778
0.05588
0.11938
0.03048
1.1176
0.03048
0.11938
0.05588
Note: Make sure the thickness keeps 0.01778
consistence with design 0
Create PCB Component
• Select the Icepak Design in the Project Manager to make this the active design
• Right-click on 3D Components and select Create > PCB, to create a PCB component
• In the PCB Component: General panel, enter PCB1 as the name for the PCB and click Next
• In the Geometry panel, click Setup Link. Proceed to the next slide

• In the Setup Link panel, the source of the ECAD data is automatically populated under Source Design and
Source Solution after clicking Use This Project
• If there are multiple ECAD files, users can select the correct ECAD file from the Source Design menu
• Go the Settings tab, and change the Extents Type to Bounding Box, to create a rectangular PCB based on the
trace extents
• Click OK to close this panel. Click Next in the PCB Component panel

• Click Next in the Property panel. We will not specify any heat dissipation for the PCB
• In the Metal Fraction panel, change the gridcut resolution to 800
• Select the 002:TOP layer from the dropdown menu and click on Display to view the metal fractions. You can
view the metal fractions for different layers from the drop-down menu for ‘Show Metal Fraction for Layer’.
Click Finish to create the PCB component

Deactivate IDF_Board and lumped Board
• Since we created a PCB component, we no longer need the IDF_BoardOutline from the IDF import
• In the History Tree, double-click on IDF_BoardOutline to open the Properties panel
• Disable the Model option. Making an object Non-Model is equivalent to deactivating the object
• Note: You can also delete the IDF_BoardOutline object if you’d like
• Click Apply to close this panel
• Right click and choose View > Show Only Model Objects

Activate Packages from IDF Imported Components
• In the History Tree, expand the A1 > Misc

• Expand NV18B_A2_N_A_NV18B_DKTP_A2, U_BRDG_BR02_BGA464_BR02_A01_N_B,
U_MEM_EP_OTP_64KX8_PLCC32_R_HTB, U_MEM_SD_DDR_4_8MX16_16M66_16MB, and
U_VREG_3PIN_SOT223_GOI_EZ1117_B
• Select all components (U8, U6, U3, U9, U10, U11, U12 and U1) and in the Properties window, select Model to
activate
• Once activated, select “Ceramic_material” under Material to assign to all objects
• Note: the U8 component is not shown in the image and is higher up the tree

• Drag all the activated components to Model at the top of the model tree
• Right click on the A1 component and select Collapse All
• Under Solids > Ceramic_Material rename the components as seen in the chart below
• Once renamed, select AGP_IDF, right click and select Assign Material…
Import Name New Name

U8 AGP_IDF
U6 Bridge
U3 LargeFlash
U9, U10, U11, DDR
U12
U1 SmallFlash

• In the search window, type High and choose the HighConductivityMaterial

• Click OK
Board and Components

Move IDF Components to Top Copper Layer of PCB
• The top IDF components are automatically assigned a 0+total layer thickness location
• The components are therefore on top of the mask rather than attached to the copper
• Select all components in Ceramic_material and HighConductivityMaterial and the F4 function to move
the component down 0.01778 mm
‐ *This value was measured using Modeler > Measure > Position and choosing two locations

Create and Move Heatsink
• Right click on 3D Components in the Icepak design and choose Create > Heatsink…
• Hit Next and enter the inputs for sizing as seen below
• Click Next, Next and Finish
Flow Direction is based

on current working
coordinate system.

Create and Move Heatsink
• Select the Heatsink1_1 object in the model tree and choose move and the F3 option
• Choose the middle of the bottom face on the base (sphere will appear) and the middle of the top face of
the AGP_IDF block to align the heatsink

View Trace in PCB
Note: The trace
• Right click the PCB1_1 and select Properties can be seen
• Click Visualization tab layer by layer in
3D Modeler
• Check all layers in the trace Window
• Click Apply and OK to close this panel

Shortcut
Resize Cabinet
• Orient the model in the Top view by right-clicking in the GUI and selecting View > Apply Orientation > Top
• Due to slight differences in information between the manually built model and the IDF files, it can be
observed that the PCB lies beyond the cabinet on the Min Y and Max Y sides
• You can use the Modeler > Measure > Position tool to measure the offsets, but the absolute offset is a
better option in this model

Resize Cabinet
• In the History Tree, click on Create Region under air: Domain to open the properties panel of the Cabinet
• In the Properties window, Change the +Y and –Y Padding Type to Absolute Offset and enter 0 mm for both
the +Y and –Y values.
• Hit Enter
• The PCB should now lie within the Cabinet

Assign Thermal Boundary Conditions to Components
• In the History Tree, right-click the AGP_IDF

• Select Assign thermal and Block
• Name it as AGP_IDF
• Set 2.5 W to Total Power and Click OK to close this panel
‐ The AGP_IDF Block Thermal Model can be seen under the Thermal section of the Icepak Project Tree

Assign Thermal Boundary Conditions to Components
• Repeat the process with the remaining Ceramic_material components as per the chart
below
• Note: You can assign to all DDRs at once and each object will get the power that is input
individually
Object Power (W)
AGP_IDF 2.5
Bridge 2.5
DDR 1.125
DDR_1 1.125
DDR_2 1.125
DDR_3 1.125
LargeFlash 0.5
SmallFlash 0.25

Assigning Mesh Priority
• If no volume objects overlap, priority should not need to be set

• However, as a best practice, specialized components may need to have higher priority to ensure that all
properties are assigned
• Right-click Model under Project Manager and select Object Priority to review the mesh priority for objects
• Select all Ceramic_Material and HighConductivityMaterial objects in History tree, and click Add Priority List
at the bottom
• The final list should like the one to the right

Shortcut
Mesh Setup
• Since a solution exists in the archive, the mesh can be created

• In the Project Manager, right-click Mesh and select Edit Global Region
• Click the Advanced tab and update the mesh parameters to match the image below. Note that the units
for minimum gap are µm
• Remember to turn off the lower options for Multi level meshing at the right
• Generate the Mesh

Shortcut
View the Mesh
• To view the mesh, right-click on Mesh in the Project Manager and select Mesh Viewer
• Use the Cut plane and Geometry/Boundary selection options to review the mesh
• For Geometry/Boundary selection option, the objects must be selected in the History Tree
Geometry/Boundary selection mesh

Shortcut
Mesh Quality
• In the Mesh Viewer panel, go to the Quality tab to review the mesh statistics
• Click on Face Alignment and Skewness to review the minimum values. It will take some time to calculate the
quality
• It is recommended to have face alignment > 0.05 and skewness > 0.02 for all models
• Mesh that does not follow the above guidelines may lead to divergence!

Shortcut
Solution Setup
• Double click the ForcedConvection_RadOff solution under Analysis

• Rename the solution as ECAD_Model and change the number of iterations to 500
• Set the Flow regime to Turbulent and choose Enhanced Realizable Two Equation turbulence model
• Select Off for Radiation Model
• Enable Solve Flow and Energy Equations
Sequentially. Proceed to the next slide
Note: The solution setup

can be “Disabled” and
“Enabled” in case of
multiple solutions setup

Solver Settings
• Under the Convergence tab, make sure the Flow and Energy convergence are set to 0.0001
and 1e-10 respectively
• In the Solver Settings tab, set initial conditions of 0.01 m_per_sec for Z Velocity and 0.01
m2_per_s2 for Turbulent Kinetic Energy

Solver Settings
• Still under the Solver Settings tab, select the Advanced Options button
• Specify the following Under-Relaxation Factors (URF) for Pressure and Momentum. Click OK
to close the panel of Advanced Solver Settings
• Select OK
These are the default

recommended
settings for forced
convection problems

Solver Settings
• In the main menu, go to Icepak > Design Settings and make sure that the following are
set for the initial conditions:
‐ Temperature = 20 cel
‐ Gauge Pressure = 0 n_per_meter_sq
‐ Radiation temp = 20 cel
• Save the project!

Setup Monitors
• Select the AGP_IDF solid in the model tree

• Right click and select Assign Monitor > Point
• Name the Monitor AGP_IDF_Temp and choose Temperature
• The point will be located under the Monitor section of the Icepak Design in the Project
Manager

Setup Monitors
• Repeat the process with each of the Ceramic_material blocks

• Note that the DDRs can be created at the same time and each will get its own monitor
• Create one more monitor point on the Max X side of the air block for Speed
• The Monitor section should look like what’s shown below
Monitors are recommended

for at least a few thermal
components and at least
one non-constant flow
boundary to ensure that
convergence has been met
(flattens the curve)

Shortcut
Validation Check
• Before running any simulation, it is important to perform a validation check on the model
• The solver runs a check on all the setup details of the project, and verifies that all the necessary steps have
been completed
• To perform a validation check, go to Icepak > Validation Check
• If there are no issues, a green tick mark is shown next to each step of the project

Shortcut
Run the Simulation
• Right click on ECAD_Model in the Project Manager and select Analyze to run the simulation
• The simulation progress can be viewed anytime in the Progress window
• Once the solution completes, right-click on ECAD_Model and click Residual to display the plots of solution
residuals and monitor points during the simulation

Post-processing: Temperature Contours
• Save the solution

• In the window, orient the model in the Left (+Y) direction and press “O” to choose object
select
• Box select around all objects other than the air block and the fans
• Right-click and select Plot Fields > Temperature > Temperature

Post-processing: Temperature Contours
• In the Create Field Plot panel, select the Specify Name option and name the plot ECAD_Temp
• Leave the default Temperature selection under Quantity and select the Plot on surface only option
• If you rotate the model off-axis, you should see a similar plot to the one at the lower right

Post-processing: Thermal Conductivity Contours
• Right click on the ECAD_Temp in the Field Overlays section of the project and deselect Plot
Visibility
• Select any metal or dielectric layer of the PCB in the History Tree
• Right-click and select View > Show Only Selection in Active View to hide all other objects in
the GUI

• Use the Zoom tool and zoom-in to this layer to show the thickness
• In the Draw tab, click on the Plane tool and create an X-Y plane at the center of the
selected layer (hold down Z after selecting the point)
• The new plane (Plane1) is available under Planes in the History Tree

• Select Plane1 in the History Tree

• Once selected, right-click in the model window and choose Plot Fields > Thermal
Conductivity > Kx

• Select the Specify Name option, change the name to KX_1

• Leave all other default options and click Done
• Orient the model in the Top (-Z) direction and you should see an image like the one in the lower right

Post-processing: Velocity Vectors
• Turn off the Plot visibility for KX_1

• Select the Fan_Coord:XY plane located under Planes from the History Tree
• Right-click Field Overlays in the Project Manager and select Plot Fields > Velocity > Velocity
Vectors
• Select Specify Name and rename the plot ECAD_velocity

Post-processing: Fields Summary
• Click on Fields Summary in the Results tab. Change the Entity Type to Object and
Geometry Type to Volume
• Select all the components on the PCB for Entity and Temperature for Quantity
• Click Add as Multiple Calculations to create summary report for each object separately
Note: Scroll down
to also choose DDR,
DDR_1, DDR_2,
DDR_3, LargeFlash
and SmallFlash

Post-processing: Fields Summary
• The Summary Report provides details of the Min, Max and Mean temperatures of the
selected objects

Ideal Workshop Outcome
• You should now be able to

‐ Create 3D Fans
‐ Import IDF file
‐ Import ECAD and update materials for the stack-up
‐ Create a PCB component
‐ Review trace in a PCB component
‐ Generate a mesh using manual settings
‐ Setup the solver and solution settings
‐ Run the simulation and post-process the results

Appendix
Updating Material Properties Prior to 2020 R1

ECAD – Update Materials
• The System Library has a database of materials with properties defined. We will use
materials from the System Library for the stack-up layers.
• In the Edit Layers panel, click on EDB_AIR and select Edit from the drop-down menu
• In the Select Definition panel, search for ‘air’ under Search by Name. Select the material
‘air’ with location ‘SysLibrary’.
• Click OK to update the material

ECAD – Update Materials for Signal Layers
• The materials for all signal and dielectric layers can be updated at once.
• In the Edit Layers panel, choose ‘Select signal’ under Layer to select all signal layers. This highlights all the
signal layers in the panel.
• Click ‘Edit’ from the drop-down menu for Material and search for copper.
• Click OK in the Select Definition panel to update the material selection.
• Similarly, update the Dielectric fill material for all signal layers to FR4_epoxy.

ECAD – Update Materials for Dielectric Layers
• Similarly, update the materials for all dielectric layers

• The final layer stack-up should be as below:

End of presentation

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Introduction to Icepak in AEDT

Module 3 – Workshop 1: Model

©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• Build an electronics system-level model

• The model has the following generic components:

3 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

3D Intake fans Board with traces

4 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• Go to File > Restore Archive and select “D1_WS1.aedtz”

5 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• A project called D2_WS1 will be created in the Project Manager

6 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• This is the model from Workshop 1

7 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• 2D fans from Day 1 workshop will be replaced with 3D fans

9 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

Fan Curve Data

10 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

11 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• To import the IDF file, go to Icepak > Import IDF

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13 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

• The imported IDF file can be viewed in the 3D Modeler Window

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• The imported ECAD file can be viewed in the 3D Modeler Window

• To view the ECAD file

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17 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

18 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

Note: By default, AEDT shows the

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23 ©2020 ANSYS, Inc. Unauthorized use, distribution, or duplication is prohibited.

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• In the History Tree, expand the A1 > Misc

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Import Name New Name

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• In the search window, type High and choose the HighConductivityMaterial

Board and Components

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Flow Direction is based

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• In the History Tree, right-click the AGP_IDF

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• If no volume objects overlap, priority should not need to be set

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• Since a solution exists in the archive, the mesh can be created

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Geometry/Boundary selection mesh

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• Double click the ForcedConvection_RadOff solution under Analysis

Note: The solution setup

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These are the default