Investigating Limits in Naturally Cooled Systems Using FLOTHERM

Paul Gauch and Melanie Heck

Flomerics Inc.
257 Turnpike Rd., Suite 100
Southborough, MA 01752
Phone: (508) 357-2012 x130 Fax: (508) 357-2013
Email: paul@flomerics.com, melanieh@flomerics.com
Abstract
The increasing power densities in electronics enclosures precede the ever-increasing focus on thermal solutions for these
enclosures. In many electronic industries, the ability to cool equipment by natural convection means is of utmost
importance. There are several reasons for the need to cool equipment without using mechanical devices such as fans and
these include: reliability, mechanical noise and vibration, ability for dust and humidity to enter the system, equipment and
energy cost, and electrical interference. Some industries trying to stay away from forced convection solutions are reaching
the limits of natural convection solutions, whilst others have already passed this limit and are forced to use mechanical
means for cooling.
This paper presents a study investigating the limits to naturally cooled systems by looking at the thermal bottlenecks and
how they could be overcome. Two types of enclosure are considered in a set of CFD analysis using FLOTHERM: a sealed
enclosure and a vented enclosure are simulated.
Current cooling technologies and common sense are used to improve the design with the goal of lowering the system
thermal resistance. A set of design guidelines are presented to assist in stretching the limits of naturally cooled systems.
Key words: CFD, FLOTHERM, Natural Convection, Numerical Method, Thermal Budget
Introduction
In the world of electronics cooling design, forced
convection is often considered a liability to be avoided.
The repercussions of using a fan include increased dust
and noise in a system, EMI interference, tampering,
and the possibility that a fan will fail and render the
system inadequate for its intended purpose. Kordyban
(1998) describes some pitfalls faced in companies that
design electronics packaging, while Newberger (1996)
confirms that naturally cooled systems can be found in
copious commercial, industrial, and military
applications.
In the effort to avoid using forced convection,
engineers have come up with a variety of tactics that
enhance the standard cooling properties of air. One of
the oldest tricks of the trade is to capitalize on the
buoyancy
effect,
as
in
Papanicolaou
&
Gopalakrishnas study (1995) of flow in a laptop
computer. During this study they examine factors
affecting the transition point between pure conduction
and stable cellular convection in a system. This stage
was reportedly affected by the aspect ratios of the
height to the length of the system, as well as the
relationship between the package size and total size of
the system.

Tools such as heat pipes, heat sinks, and

thermosyphons (gravitationally-based heat pipes) can
be used to make the most of cooling possibilities in a
system (Peterson, 1994). Kordyban cites examples of
situations where inadvertent use of a conductive
surface as a heat sink has unexpected effects on a
system. In particular, he highlights conditions where
objects such as a frame or chassis have unexpected
heat sink properties, while the incorrect usage of other
apparatus actually impede the efficiency of free
convection.
Before any of this methodology or apparatus can be
used, however, it is necessary to understand the factors
that create and reduce bottlenecks to effective heat
transfer. Some of these bottlenecks include
obstructions to flow, disproportionate height and width
of an enclosure, and poor placement of conductive
objects in a system. A study presented by Garcia et al.
(1995) shows that air channels placed in the wrong
locations in a system actually decrease heat transfer
compared to a control group without channels.
Although the threshold of natural convection is
constantly pushed by increased power output in
electronics packaging, it is necessary to exhaust all
possibilities in this medium before relying on alternate
thermal solutions. This paper discusses the concept of
a thermal budget and examines some ground rules for

optimizing temperature in a free convection situation.

First we will look at the numerical method used to
model the case studies in this paper. This will be
followed by a discussion of the heat transfer modes,
along with the definition of a systems thermal budget.
The concept of a merit factor will be introduced and
explained, followed by brief qualitative case studies
for sealed and ventilated natural convection cases.
Finally, a list of guidelines for reducing thermal
bottlenecks is included. This paper merely introduces
the concept of a merit factor, and it is expected that
further work will be done to refine the concept and to
determine quantitative proofs for each design
guideline.

for the use of the proposed method. CFD determines

the convective heat transfer through the energy
equation implicitly by determining the local heat
transfer coefficients for each heated object. The
pressure drop is also determined implicitly in the CFD.

The case studies in this paper, along with future work,

are done using FLOTHERM, a computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) software package provided by
Flomerics. Ideally, the guidelines provided will enable
thermal designers to maintain dimensions that make
the most of systems where fan-driven cooling is not an
option.

governs the majority of heat transfer. Vented systems,

however, have a higher reliance on convection, giving
rise to the importance of the heat transfer coefficient in
the equation

Numerical Method

Admittedly, free convection is not generally as

effective in dispersing heat as forced convection.
Nevertheless, convection due to buoyancy effects is
often one of the most easily utilized factors in
enhancing the cooling in a system. Papanicolaou &
Gopalakrishna examine the point at which a transition
is made from a pure conduction state to a stable
cellular convection state. In this situation, the transition
has a significant effect on the component temperatures.
Conversely, a study by Kwak & Song (1996) suggests
that blockage and recirculation of the buoyant airflow
cause adverse outcomes when additional surface area
is added.

FLOTHERM is a computational fluid and

heat transfer analysis and design package that is
designed specifically for the analysis of electronic
equipment. FLOTHERM makes use of the finite
volume method to analyze three-dimensional
geometries from chip-level to system-level. The
conjugate heat and flow solution is performed using
the Boussinesq approximation for buoyancy forces
(Gauch, 2000). The software implements this
principle for steady state as well as the transient
equations. Turbulence is modeled with a choice of two
different equation models.
The governing equations for conservation of
mass, momentum (Navier-Stokes) and energy are
shown below in compact form (Mills, 1995):

u = 0

u
+ (u )u = P + 2 u + g(T T )
t

T
c p
+ c p u T = kT + S
t
These equations are discretized into algebraic
expressions and solved iteratively in a computational
grid.
The numeric solution of the governing
equations provides all the characterization necessary

Heat Transfer Modes and the Thermal Budget

In most natural convection systems, conduction and
radiation accomplish the majority of heat transfer in
the model. In sealed models, conduction dominates
within the system, and the well-known equation

Q = (k / l ) AT

Q = hAT .

The thermal budget of a design is defined as the

difference between the maximum junction temperature
and the system ambient. This number is convenient
when looking at the temperature rise in each section of
the thermal path and identifying problem areas in a
meaningful way. For example, it has been established
that interface materials between electronic packages
and heat sinks consume in the range of 25-40% of the
thermal budget (Saums, 2000). This points to a
traditional bottleneck in thermal design, which is the
high thermal resistance near a package due to large
heat fluxes through a small area. Despite efforts, even
optimum interface materials drain a great deal from the
thermal budget.
Other impedance values are caused by air gaps
between hot components and chassis walls, which can
connect them to cooler ambient air. System
impedances can be lessened by increasing the

conductivity or number of solid paths, as well as by

clearing the airflow regions in vented systems. The
following image shows a generalized sketch of the
thermal budget for a standard package with interface
and heat sink included.

follows is a short list of considerations that effect the

merit factor.
1. Buoyant height
Buoyant height is defined as the height in or around a
system where buoyant forces exist. More than just a
function of the height of a system, this also considers
the physical layout and placement of heat sources. In
Figure 2, a serpentine channel illustrates this concept
by providing a number of possible buoyant heights. If
object 1 is heated, for instance, the height is 1H. If
objects 1 and 3 are heated, the height is 2H due to the
lack of relative variance in the middle channel. If all
objects were heated, the height returns to 1H.
The larger the buoyant height for a system, the better
the merit factor. Note that the buoyant height is always
defined by vertical heights, ignoring other acceleration
forces.

Figure 1: Thermal budget for a package

The resistances, each of which represents an area
where heat loss takes place, are suspended between
locations where heat is often measured for the
purposes of evaluating the system effectiveness. The
table below matches the resistances with their
corresponding locations.
1
2
3
4
5

Resistances
Packaging
Interface
Heat sink
Ambient (int.)
Ambient (ext.)

Heat Locations
junction, case
case, heat sink (int.)
heat sink (int.), heat sink (ext.)
heat sink (ext.), enclosure
enclosure, ambient

Discussion of the Merit Factor

In order to understand the factors that can reduce the
overall thermal resistance of a natural convection
system, the concept of a merit factor is introduced.
This merit factor will make use of a set of physical
parameters, each of which can be applied to evaluate
the effectiveness of a design.
The merit factor is based on the mechanisms of heat
transfer presented in the previous section. By utilizing
a combination of heat transfer modes, thermal
resistance can be reduced and the design can be
prevented from exceeding the thermal budget. What

Q
H

B
B

Figure 2: Buoyant height (H), object heat (Q) and

blockage hydraulic diameter (B) for 2 scenarios
2. Buoyant blockage
The concept of buoyant blockage is defined in the
plane normal to the buoyant height. This blockage can
be represented by the average hydraulic diameter of
the system defined by integrating along the flow path
or buoyant length. This parameter is shown in Figure
2.
Generally, the merit factor is adversely affected by
buoyant blockage, even when the blockage would be
considered negligible in forced convection cases. This
is due to the relatively small part that buoyancy plays
in the momentum equation. Solid-to-air resistance (4),
however, suggests conditions where extended surfaces
for heat dissipation benefit system cooling. These are
discussed in detail later in this section.
3. Solid-to-solid thermal resistance
As heat dissipates from a junction, the heat flux
traveling through finitely conductive materials causes a

temperature drop, consuming a large amount of the

thermal budget. Reducing this resistance path will
improve the merit factor. An integrated heat sink lid
for a device is one such method of improvement, since
it eliminates the need for interface materials
(Occhionero, 2000).

Case Studies

4. Solid-to-air thermal resistance

The focus of this paper thus far has been the qualitative
evaluation of a number of merit factors that will help a
design to remain within its thermal budget. To
illustrate some analysis concepts, a limited set of
results will be given for one sealed and one vented
enclosure.

In order to alleviate the heat flux density transferred to

the fluid medium, an extended surface at the solid-toair interface can be used. Heat sinks perform this
function but must be carefully selected for each
application, as there is a trade-off between buoyant
blockage (2) and the solid-to-air resistance (4). Usually
an optimal configuration can be found and it is here
that parametric thermal analysis can be useful.

An enclosure with dimensions 15 x 15 x 3 is

modeled with vertical fins measuring 40mm mounted
on one side of the enclosure. Two PCBs with four
components each (5 Watts per PCB) were mounted
internally on the finned side. Figure 3 illustrates this
enclosure and includes streamlines from Flomotion.
The streamlines show internal and external flow
effects.

5. Magic devices (heat pipes, coolers, etc.)

Heat pipes are sealed pipes with an internal wick
structure and hollow core. Water is usually the fluid in
the pipe and undergoes a full thermodynamic cycle
when heat is added to one end. This implies that a heat
pipe is near isothermal and can lower the thermal
resistance from a device to any point away from the
device. In a simplified way, this can be considered a
solid-to-solid
resistance
improvement.
This
improvement can often lower the thermal resistance by
bypassing the poor thermal link to sealed or poorly
vented enclosures.
Thermoelectric coolers actively pump heat from one
point to another in an electric refrigeration process.
These devices generate a net heat and should generally
be avoided in natural convection or sealed systems.
Other magic devices exist and can be applied to free
convection system, often with decidedly positive
results. One caution, however, is to remember that
these devices are magic in name only. Even the most
impressive apparatus will only be as effective as
application and system constraints allow.
The merit factors listed can be considered
independently and therefore are additive. The physical
design of an electronic enclosure can be improved a
great deal during the conceptual stages by looking at
each merit factor and making possible improvements
in various areas. Due to the complexity of heat transfer
for buoyant flows, this can best be done using CFD,
since this allows for multiple designs of a system to be
tested and compared.

Figure 3: Sealed enclosure with streamlines

The results shown here are a comparison of the internal
temperature vs. the number of fins included in the heat
sink, which range from 6 to 38. The results show that
an optimal number of fins is 22, yielding the lowest
temperature. The reason for the minima is a
combination of two of the merit factors mentioned
earlier; the increased buoyant blockage counters the
solid-to-air surface of the heat sink.

Figure 4: Plot showing iterations with optimal number

of fins
A similar test was conducted for a vented enclosure,
wherein the lateral blockage of the heat sink was

measured against the beneficial effects of its increasing

surface area. A model with dimensions 3.4 x 9.5 x 7
is shown, with one PCB containing a component that
dissipates 8 Watts. A heat sink is attached to this
component, and the number of fins are altered to find
the optimal balance between lateral blockage and
solid-to-air junctions. Figure 5 illustrates the system
described and includes streamlines from Flomotion.

Figure 5: Vented enclosure with velocity profiles

The results shown here are a comparison of the internal
temperature vs. the number of fins included in the heat
sink, which range from 4 to 18. The results show that
an optimal number of fins given the width of the fins
(0.125 for a heat sink with base of 3 x 3) is 6,
yielding the lowest temperature. The minima is a result
of combining two of the merit factors mentioned
earlier; the increased buoyant blockage counters the
solid-to-air surface of the heat sink.

Guidelines and Conclusion

The previous sections describe a number of merit
factors that can be used to optimize a thermal design.
The summary below contains a list of simple principles
to consider when designing a natural convection
system. This is by no means exhaustive, but it provides
a checklist of dos and donts for the thermal specialist
in an early design phase. This list is not definitive, but
is culled from a combination of experience and
previous work done on the subject:
Height should be maximized in projects where
buoyancy effects are significant.
Optimal configuration must be found between
lateral blockage and solid-to-air resistance.
Reducing the thermal path between solid-to-solid
thermal resistance is advantageous in almost any
situation.
Lateral blockages should be minimized in all cases
and should be as uniform as possible.
Increased source sizes will allow heat to be more
evenly dispersed.
Try to combine all three modes of heat transfer
within practical constraints especially when thermal
bottlenecks exist. Bottlenecks can be identified by
determining the impedances that make up the thermal
budget.
Dont forget devices such as heat pipes and other
practical mechanical cooling devices!
This project set out to highlight thermal principles and
provide strategies for a thermal engineer to use when
designing a system where fan-driven cooling is not
available. Included were notes defining a thermal
budget and describing the factors that go into
determining the merit factors in a system. There is
scope for more work with the purpose of refining these
merit factors and determining quantitative strategies
with which to make modeling decisions.
References
Garcia, M.P., M.R. Cosley & M.J. Marongiu.
Experimental and Computational Studies on the
Thermal Management of Electronics Enclosures Using
Natural Convection, Eurotherm Seminar No. 45,
Belgium, Sept. 1995, pp. 14.1-10.

Figure 6: Plot showing iterations with optimal number

of fins

Gauch, P., A Design Approach to Thermal

Characterization of Forced Convection Systems using
Superposition in CFD, IMAPS 2000, Boston,
September 2000.

Kordyban, T., Hot Air Rises and Heat Sinks, ASME

Press, New York, 1998.
Kwak, C. & T. H. Song, Experimental and Numerical
Study on Natural Connection from Upward Horizontal
Rectangular Grooved Fins, Itherm V Proceedings,
Florida, May 1996, pp.38-45.
Mills, A.F., Heat and Mass Transfer, Irwin, First
Edition, Chicago, 1995, pp. 451-461.
Newberger, J., Totally Enclosed Naturally Cooled
Electronic Enclosures, Itherm V Proceedings, Florida,
May 1996, pp.56-66.
Occhionero, M.A. et. al., Assembly-Specific AlSiC
Integrated Heat Sink Lids for Microprocessors,
IMAPS Advanced Technology Workshop on Thermal
Management and Heat Spreaders, Avon, CO, April
2000.
Papanicolaou, E. & S. Gopalakrishna, Natural
Convection in Shallow Horizontal Air Layers
Encountered in Electronic Cooling, Journal of
Electronic Packaging, Vol. 117, pp.307-16, Dec 1995.
Peterson, G.P., An Introduction to Heat Pipes, John
Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994.
Saums, D., Characterization and Selection of a New
Extremely Low Thermal Impedance Phase-Change
Thermal Interface Material for High-Performance
Processor and Wireless/RF Applications, IMAPS
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Management and Heat Spreaders, Avon, CO, April
2000.