Heat sink Design and Optimization

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 Methodology
 Design Constraints
 Initial feasibility study
 Preliminary heat sink design
 Optimization

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Environmental & Physical Conditions
 Natural Convection & Radiation:
 Ambient air temperature, Ta
 Surrounding surfaces temperature, Ts
 Viewable surface temperature and
emmissivity, 
 Orientation with respect to gravity
 Forced Convection:
 Local upstream air temperature, Ta
 Local upstream air velocity, v

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Environmental & Physical Conditions
 System and Board Specifications:
 Enclosure volume (W, L, H)
 Cross sectional area of the duct available for air
flow (w, h)
 Total power dissipation
 Component Specifications:
 Power dissipation, P
 Maximum case (Tcmax) and junction temperatures
(Tcmax)
 Junction to case resistance, Rjc
 Junction to ambient resistance, Rja

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 Initial Feasibility Study
 Natural convection:
 35 mm x 35 mm BGA located on PCB, within an
10 cm x 20 cm x 5 cm enclosure having sufficient
ventilation
 Ambient air, Ta is 40 °C
 Power dissipation, P is 5 W
 Maximum junction temperature , Tjmax is 85 °C
 Junction to case resistance, Rjc is 1 ° C/W
 Junction to ambient resistance, Rja is 30 °C/W
 In the absence of a heat sink, Tj = 5 W x 30 °C/W
+ 40 °C = 190 °C, 105 °C higher than allowed

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 Initial Feasibility Study
 What is the heat sink thermal resistance, Rhs which
can keep the junction temperature below 85 °C?
 Using thermal interface pad, Rint = 1 °C/W
 Rhs = (85 °C – 40 °C )/3 W – ( 1 °C/W + 1 °C/W) = 7
°C/W, heat sink with 7 °C/W resistance or better is
needed
 If the heat sink can not be bigger than 5 cm x 7 cm x 3
cm, what is the surface area which will ensure the
natural convection cooling feasibility?
 Heat sink thermal resistance, Rhs = 1/hA (W/°C)
 Ignoring radiation, typical natural convection heat
transfer coefficient, h is 4 W/m2 °C
 Heat sink surface area = 1/(7 x 4) = 0.0357 m2

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 Initial Feasibility Study
 Using an aluminum extruded heat sink with 5 cm x 7 cm x 0.5
cm base and 2.5 cm x 0.2 cm fins, how many fins are
needed?
 At least 8 fins are needed.
 Since the fin height to gap size ratio is less than 8, the heat
sink manufacturability is feasible.

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 Preliminary Heat Sink Design
 Ignoring radiation:
 Heat transfer coefficient: 2.98168 W/m² K
 Base temperature: 83.02 °C (43.02 °C above
ambient)
 Junction temperature: 93.02 °C
 Thermal resistance: 8.582 °C/W
 Maximum thermal resistance: 8.600 °C/W
 Efficiency (f): 99.046 %
 Average temperature of heat sink: 82.66 °C
(42.66 °C above ambient)

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Preliminary Heat Sink Design
 Heat sink surface area: 0.0406 m²
 Effective heat sink surface area: 0.039375 m²
 Approximate heat sink mass: 0.13220 kg
 Effective heat sink surface area: 0.039375 m²

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 Parametric Studies
Effect of number fins on the heat sink performance

17.6 53 Rhs (°C/W)

16 .6 73
15.6 9 2
14 .711
13 .73 0
12 .74 9
11.76 9
10 .78 8
9 .8 0 7
8 .8 2 6
7.8 4 6
6 .8 6 5
8 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 0 10 .0 0 0 11.0 0 0 12 .0 0 0
Numb er o f fins

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 Parametric Studies
Effect of number fins on the heat sink performance

12 8 .4 Junction Temperature (°C)

12 3 .5
118 .6
113 .7
10 8 .8
10 3 .9
9 9 .0
9 4 .0
8 9 .1
8 4 .2
79 .3
74 .4
8 .0 0 0 9 .0 0 0 10 .0 0 0 11.0 0 0 12 .0 0 0
Numb er o f fins

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 Preliminary Heat Sink Design
 Accounting for radiation: (Shiny surfaces)
 Surface emmissivity: 0.36
 Heat transfer coefficient: 2.578 W/m² K
 Base temperature: 74.99 °C (34.99 °C above ambient)
 Junction temperature: 84.99 °C (8 °C lower with
radiation)
 Thermal resistance: 6.967 °C/W
 Maximum thermal resistance: 6.999 °C/W
 Efficiency (f): 98.77 %
 Average temperature of heat sink: 74.65 °C (34.65 °C
above ambient).

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 Preliminary Heat Sink Design
 Accounting for radiation: (Anodized surfaces)
 Surface emissivity: 0.8
 Heat transfer coefficient: 2.1947 W/m² K
 Base temperature: 68.31 °C (28.31 °C above ambient)
 Junction temperature: 78.31 °C (7 °C lower with
anodized surfaces)
 Thermal resistance: 5.64 °C/W
 Maximum thermal resistance: 5.663 °C/W
 Efficiency (f): 98.47 %
 Average temperature of heat sink: 67.97 °C (27.97 °C
above ambient)

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 Heat Sink Optimization
 Minimize the thermal resistance of the heat sink with
respect fin thickness (1.5 – 2 mm) and number of
fins (6 – 12 fins).
5.70 0
5.6 12 Rhs (°C/W)
5.52 3
5.4 3 5
5.3 4 6
5.2 58
5.170
5.0 8 1
4 .9 9 3
4 .9 0 4
4 .8 16
4 .72 8
4 .6 3 9
4 .551
4 .4 6 2
4 .3 74
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Iteratio ns

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 Heat Sink Optimization
13 4 .7
13 1.0 Heat sink mass (kg)
12 7.4
12 3 .8
12 0 .1
116 .5
112 .9
10 9 .2
10 5.6
10 2 .0
9 8 .3
9 4 .7
9 1.1
8 7.4
8 3 .8
8 0 .1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Iteratio ns

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 Optimized Heat Sink
(Anodized Surfaces)
 Fin thickness: 1.5 mm, Number of fins: 6
 Heat transfer coefficient: 4.947 W/m² K
 Base temperature: 62.3 °C (22.3 °C above ambient)
 Junction temperature: 72.3 °C (6 °C lower after
optimization)
 Thermal resistance: 4.434 °C/W
 Maximum thermal resistance: 4.46 °C/W
 Efficiency (f): 97.1 %
 Heat sink mass: 89.71 g (reduced by 33%)

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Optimization

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