PROBLEM3.

33
KNOWN: Dimensions, thermal conductivity and emissivity of base plate. Temperature and
convection coefficient of adjoining air. Temperature of surroundings. Maximum allowable
temperature of transistor case. Case-plate interface conditions.
FIND: (a) Maximum allowable power dissipation for an air-filled interface, (b) Effect of convection
coefficient on maximum allowable power dissipation.
SCHEMATIC:
Air
T = 298 K
oo
h = 4 W/m -K
2
T = 298 K
sur
q
cnv
q
rad
q
T , = 0.90
s,p
c
L = 0.006 m W = 0.02 m
A = 2x10 m R
c
-4 2
t,c
,
P
elec
<
ASSUMPTIONS: (1) Steady-state, (2) Negligible heat transfer from the enclosure, to the
surroundings. (3) One-dimensional conduction in the base plate, (4) Radiation exchange at surface of
base plate is with large surroundings, (5) Constant thermal conductivity.
PROPERTIES: Aluminum-aluminum interface, air-filled, 10 m roughness, 10
5
N/m
2
contact
pressure (Table 3.1):
4 2
t,c
R 2.75 10 m K/ W.

'' =
ANALYSIS: (a) With all of the heat dissipation transferred through the base plate,
s,c
elec
tot
T T
P q
R

= = (1)
where ( ) ( )
1
tot t,c cnd cnv rad
R R R 1/ R 1/ R

( = + + +

t,c
tot
2 2
c r
R
L 1 1
R
A h h
kW W
''
| |
= + +
|
+
\ .
(2)
and
( )
( )
2 2
r s,p sur s,p sur
h T T T T co = + + (3)
To obtain T
s,p
, the following energy balance must be performed on the plate surface,
( ) ( )
s,c s,p
2 2
cnv rad s,p r s,p sur
t,c cnd
T T
q q q hW T T h W T T
R R

= = + = +
+
(4)
With R
t,c
= 2.75 10
-4
m
2
K/W/210
-4
m
2
= 1.375 K/W, R
cnd
= 0.006 m/(240 W/mK 4 10
-4
m
2
)
= 0.0625 K/W, and the prescribed values of h, W, T

= T
sur
and c, Eq. (4) yields a surface
temperature of T
s,p
= 357.6 K = 84.6C and a power dissipation of
Continued
PROBLEM3.33 (Cont.)
elec
P q 0.268 W = = <
The convection and radiation resistances are R
cnv
= 625 K/W and R
rad
= 345 K/W, where h
r
= 7.25
W/m
2
K.
(b) With the major contribution to the total resistance made by convection, significant benefit may be
derived by increasing the value of h.
For h = 200 W/m
2
K, R
cnv
= 12.5 K/W and T
s,p
= 351.6 K, yielding R
rad
= 355 K/W. The effect of
radiation is then negligible.
COMMENTS: (1) The plate conduction resistance is negligible, and even for h = 200 W/m
2
K, the
contact resistance is small relative to the convection resistance. However, R
t,c
could be rendered
negligible by using indium foil, instead of an air gap, at the interface. From Table 3.1,
4 2
t,c
R 0.07 10 m K/ W,

'' = in which case R

t,c
= 0.035 mK/W.
(2) Because A
c
< W
2
, heat transfer by conduction in the plate is actually two-dimensional, rendering
the conduction resistance even smaller.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
Convection coefficient, h (W/m^2.K)
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
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