LuxPCB ©

Thermal
Instruction Manual
V 1.4.0

Lux Engineering Analysis, Inc.

 Copyright © 2011 Dunamis Technology Incorporated. An affiliate of Luxea, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Luxea© LuxPCB© Thermal User Guide for Windows ®

If this guide is distributed with software that includes an end user agreement, this guide, as well as the software described in it, is
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The content of this guide is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed
as a commitment by Dunamis Technology Incorporated. Dunamis Technology Incorporated assumes no responsibility or liability for
any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained in this guide.
Please remember that existing artwork or images that you may want to include in your project may be protected under copyright
law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner.
Please be sure to obtain any permission required from the copyright owner.

Any references to company names in sample templates are for demonstration purposes only and are not intended to refer to any
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Portions of this product contain code licensed from Structural Mechanical Analysis .

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Dunamis Technology Incorporated, 841 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, California 95123, USA.

LuxPCB User Guide

  About LuxPCB Thermal

Welcome to Luxea’s LuxPCB © Thermal, and thank you for

purchasing our software.

LuxPCB © Thermal is a performance focused, FEA based

analysis tool for PC boards. Based on Luxea’s powerful LibraFEA
engine and over 100 years of combined experience and
expertise, LuxPCB features streamlined, intuitive, and powerful
analysis package that provides rapid solutions for pre-
optimization to verification process in PCB design. LuxPCB
focuses on efficiency, so that you can spend time getting
results, not learning how to use the software or building the PCB
model.

Tools are vital if engineers are to improve efficiency, achieve

accurate results, and maximize overall performance. That’s why
we take a great deal of pleasure in creating software that
really works for engineers and helps them with their tasks.

We hope to continuously serve engineers and would again, like

to thank you for purchasing Luxea, Inc. products.

The Luxea Team

LuxPCB User Guide 3

 1 Installation
 Step by Step Guide ………………………………....................... 7

2 LuxPCB© Thermal Overview

 LuxPCB© Menu at a Glance ……………………...........................
9
 LuxPCB Menu in Detail ….…………………………………..........
© 10

3 Settings
 General Option ..........................................................................17
11
 Analysis Settings ………………………………............................19
• Convection ……………………………………………….......20
• Units …………………………………………......................... 22

4 Model Building
 PC Board Modeling ……………………………............................24
 Component Modeling ………………………………………...........29
 Cold Plate Modeling ………………………………………….........35
 Conduction Bar Modeling …………………………...…………...... 39
 Boundary Conditions ……………………………….......................43

5 Results
 Analysis ………………………………….......................................46
 Jplot Results ..............................................................................49
 Report Generation ………………………………….......................53

LuxPCB User Guide

 6 LuxCalc Tools
 h Calc ……………………………..................................................
58
 Board K ……………………………………………....................... 63

7 Appendix
 Key Terms ……………………………..........................................67

LuxPCB User Guide

 1
Installation
 Step by Step Guide

LuxPCB User Guide

  Step by Step Guide
1. Run LuxPCBSetup.msi
(LuxPCBSetup.msi)
LuxPCBSetup

2. Follow the steps

1 2

3 4

5 6

LuxPCB User Guide 7

 2
LuxPCB© Thermal
Overview
 LuxPCB© Menu at a Glance
 LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

LuxPCB User Guide

  LuxPCB© Menu at a Glance

A B

C
D

A. Program Control Tools

Includes LuxPCB function controlling buttons

B. LuxCalc Tools
Includes LuxCalc calculator tools for ‘h’ and ‘Board k’

C. Model Building Tools

Includes PCB model building buttons

D. Model Display/Interface Window

Displays interactive model of the PCB

LuxPCB User Guide 9

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail
A Program Control Tools

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1. File
Manage LuxPCB sessions
• New Project: Starts new project
• Open Project: Opens saved project
• Save: Saves current project
• Save As...: Saves current project as
• Exit: Exits LuxPCB

2. Edit Image
Manage imported image files
• Add Image: Adds PCB image from file
• Clear Image: Clears PCB image
• Crop Image: Crops PCB image

LuxPCB User Guide 10

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

3. Tools
Access material library, Jplot, FEA
input file, and general options

• Material Library: Opens material

library
• Model Viewer: Opens the latest
generated PCB model in Jplot
• FEA Input File: Opens input text file
used by LuxPCB FEA engine
• Options: Opens directory setting and
model analysis setting

4. Help
Access User Guide and information
about LuxPCB
• Help: Opens help
• About...: Displays program version
information

5. Run
Initiate analysis

6. Model Check
Create and display 3D rendered
model of PCB in Jplot

LuxPCB User Guide 11

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

7. Setting
Set analysis mode

8. Units
Set units of variables and constants

9. PCB Image
Import PCB image file

10. Library
Access and manage materials library for PCB model

11. Report
Manage the format and images to include in the automatically
generated Power Point report

LuxPCB User Guide 12

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

B LuxCalc Tools

12 13

12. h Calc
Convection h calculator tool

13. Board K
Board k calculator tool

LuxPCB User Guide 13

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

C Model Building Tools

14. Select Pointer

14 Select PCB model parts

15
15. Create/Modify PC Board
Create or modify PC board
16

16. Create/Modify Component

17 Create or modify component

18 17. Create/Modify Cold Plate

Create or modify cold plate
19
18. Create/Modify Conduction Bar
Create or modify conduction bar

19. Define Boundary Conditions

Create and define boundary condition

LuxPCB User Guide 14

  LuxPCB© Menu in Detail

D Model Display/Interface Window

20

21 23
22

20. Primary / Secondary Side

Select between primary and secondary side of PC board

21. Coordinate Axis Orientation

View x-y axis orientation of PCB model

22. Status Line

View current mode and analysis progress information

23. X & Y coordinate

View x and y coordinate of pointer relative to PCB model

LuxPCB User Guide 15

 3
Settings
 General Options
 Analysis Setting

LuxPCB User Guide

  General Options

1. Press Tools > Options

2. Set the values for the following

tabs:

a. General
b. Model Options a. b.

LuxPCB User Guide 17

  General Options

Options

a. General

Set the location of the

directories

Note: By default, the location of the

directories are in C:\LuxPCB

b. Model Options

Set the detail level of the

analysis

Note: In Component Detail

- Coarse = 50% of the Grid Detail
- Normal = 100% of the Grid Detail
- Fine = 200% of the Grid Detail

Note: Grid Detail signifies the number of

grids along the shorter side of the
board

LuxPCB User Guide 18

  Analysis Setting

1. Press Setting

2. Set the values for the following

tabs:

• Convection
• Units

LuxPCB User Guide 19

  Analysis Setting

Convection

1. Select Analysis Type

1.
Note: 2.
- For convection analysis, check the
box
- For conduction analysis uncheck
the box

2. Select Natural Convection or

Forced Convection

 Natural Convection

1. Select global ‘h’ application

scope

Note: If none are selected, h value will

be set to ‘0’ (no global convection
effect; set the convection effects
locally)
1.

2.
2. Select air flow orientation

3. Enter ambient (air) and

3.
estimated surface (PCB)
temperature of PCB primary
and secondary side

LuxPCB User Guide 20

  Analysis Setting

 Forced Convection

1. Select global ‘h’ application

scope

Note: If none are selected, h value will

be set to ‘0’ (no global convection 1.
effect; set the convection effects
locally) 2.
3.
2. Set airflow direction

3. Enter airflow rate 4.

4. Enter duct dimensions

5.
5. Enter total heat input
(dissipation) on the PCB
6.
6. Enter inlet ambient air
temperatures for primary and
secondary side of PCB 7.

7. Select type of boundary

condition for Nusselt number
calculation

Note:
- Uniform heat flux: average Nusselt
number for uniform heat flux in flow
direction and uniform wall
temperature at any cross section

- Uniform wall temperature: average

Nusselt number for uniform wall
temperature

LuxPCB User Guide 21

  Analysis Setting

Units

1. Select units system for each of

the constants and variables

Note: Units System are available in SI,

Mixed, and Imperial

LuxPCB User Guide 22

 4
Model Building
 PC Board Modeling
 Component Modeling
 Cold Plate Modeling
 Conduction Bar Modeling
 Boundary Conditions

LuxPCB User Guide

  PC Board Modeling

1. Press PCB Image (optional)

Note: Steps 1 to 3 are optional (loading a

PCB image file to sketch on)

2. Select image file

3. Image file loaded

LuxPCB User Guide 24

  PC Board Modeling

4. Press Create/Modify PCB

Board

Note: When building a model on an

image, do not adjust the LuxPCB
window size after the first sketch
has been made as it will
misalign the image with the
sketch

5. Click and drag to create

board

6. Board is created and Edit

Properties window
automatically pops up

LuxPCB User Guide 25

  PC Board Modeling

7. Geometry/Heat Tab:

Enter heat (optional) and

define board geometry a.
a. Heat b.

Note: Equivalent smeared total heat

dissipation for the PCB

b. Geometry

8. Material Property Tab:

a. b.
Choose among
a. Library c.
b. Select Commonly
Used
c. Manual input
d. Calculate K d.

to define PCB layer

property

LuxPCB User Guide 26

  PC Board Modeling

Material Property

a. Library

Select from file or manage

stored entries (create new or
delete)

b. Select Commonly Used

Select from the list

c. Manual Input

Enter values directly

LuxPCB User Guide 27

  PC Board Modeling

d. Calculate K

Calculate the equivalent K of a

board by defining the Material
Property and PCB Stackup
information

 Layer Detail:

Enter the values for the

number of layers, thicknesses,
and fill percentages of each of
the layers

LuxPCB User Guide 28

  Component Modeling

1. Press Create/Modify
Component

2. Click and drag to create

component

Note: PC Board must be drawn first

3. Component is created

CMP_t_0

LuxPCB User Guide 29

  Component Modeling

4. Double click on component

to edit properties

CMP_t_0

5. In the Cross Sectional View,

select layer
a. Component
b. Board Interface
c. PCB with Vias

Note: If ‘Convection’ is selected in

the ‘Analysis’ setting, an
interactive red arrow will be
displayed

a.
Natural Forced b.
c.
Select to adjust the ‘h’ value of
the air flow

6. Select Geometry/Heat Tab:

Enter heat and define

geometry and location
a. Cold Plate
b. Detail a.
b.

LuxPCB User Guide 30

  Component Modeling

Geometry/Heat

a. Cold Plate

Connects the component to

the cold plate (if available)

Note: A new connection layer (Cold Plate

Interface) will be available to assign
properties

b. Detail

View the detailed cavity

configuration of the
component

Note: New layers (Component

Encapsulant and Component
Substrate) will be available to
assign properties

Note: Cavity configuration can be

swapped

LuxPCB User Guide 31

  Component Modeling

7. Select Material Property

Tab:
a. b.
Choose among
a. Library c.
b. Select Commonly
Used
c. Manual input
d. Calculate K
d.
to define property

Note: Calculate K is only available

when ‘Board Interface’ or ‘PCB
with Vias’ is selected

Note: If the thickness of a part is

significantly smaller than that of
the board, the part will be
represented with a triangle

LuxPCB User Guide 32

  Component Modeling

Material Property

a. Library

Select from file or manage

stored entries (create new or
delete)

b. Commonly Used List

Select from the list

c. Manual Input

Enter values directly

LuxPCB User Guide 33

  Component Modeling

d. Calculate K

Calculate the equivalent K of a

‘Board Interface’ or ‘PCB with
Vias’ by defining the leads or
vias information

 Board Interface:

Enter the values for the leads

properties and the interface

Note: Material properties can be

imported from the library

 PCB with Vias:

Enter the values for the vias

properties

Note: Material properties can be imported

from the library

LuxPCB User Guide 34

  Cold Plate Modeling

1. Press Create/Modify Cold

Plate

2. Click and drag to create

board

Note: PC Board must be drawn first

3. Cold Plate is created

LuxPCB User Guide 35

  Cold Plate Modeling

4. Double click on cold plate

to edit properties

5. Choose cold plate in the

Cross Sectional View to
enter ‘Geometry’ and
‘Material Property’

Note: If ‘Convection’ is selected in

the ‘Analysis’ setting, an
interactive arrow will be
displayed

Select to adjust the ‘h’ value of

the air flow

Natural Forced

6. Geometry Tab:

Enter geometry and

location properties

LuxPCB User Guide 36

  Cold Plate Modeling

7. Material Property Tab:

Choose among a. b.
a. Library
b. Select Commonly c.
Used
c. Manual input

to define property

Note: The PC Board properties can

be edited by selecting the PC
Board layer in Cross Sectional
View

Note: To connect cold plate to

component, click on that
component and check the ‘Cold
Plate’ option (See Component
Modeling for more details)

LuxPCB User Guide 37

  Cold Plate Modeling

Material Property

a. Library

Select from file or manage

stored entries (create new or
delete)

b. Select Commonly Used

Select from the list

c. Manual Input

Enter values directly

LuxPCB User Guide 38

  Conduction Bar Modeling

1. Press Create/Modify
Conduction Bar

2. Click and drag to create

conduction bar

Note: PC Board must be drawn first

Note: Conduction bar must not

overlap with components

3. Conduction Bar is created

LuxPCB User Guide 39

  Conduction Bar Modeling

4. Double click on conduction

bar to edit properties

5. Choose the conduction bar

in the Cross Sectional View
to enter ‘Geometry’ and edit
‘Material Property’

6. Geometry Tab:

Enter geometry properties

LuxPCB User Guide 40

  Conduction Bar Modeling

7. Material Property Tab:

Choose among a. b.
a. Library
b. Select Commonly c.
Used
c. Manual input

to define property

Note: The PC Board or Cold Plate

properties can be edited by
selecting the PC Board or Cold
Plate layer in Cross Sectional
View

LuxPCB User Guide 41

  Conduction Bar Modeling

Material Property

a. Library

Select from file or manage

stored entries (create new or
delete)

b. Select Commonly Used

Select from the list

c. Manual Input

Enter values directly

LuxPCB User Guide 42

  Boundary Conditions

1. Press Create/Modify
Conduction Bar

2. Click and drag to create

boundary condition

Note: PC Board must be drawn first

Note: The nodes that are enclosed

within the boundary region are
set to the specified conditions

3. Boundary Condition is
created

LuxPCB User Guide 43

  Boundary Conditions Modeling

4. Double click on boundary

condition to edit properties

5. Enter boundary region

properties

LuxPCB User Guide 44

 5
Results
 Analysis
 Jplot Results
 Report Generation

LuxPCB User Guide

  Analysis

1. Press Model Check (Optional)

Note: Steps 1 and 2 are optional (Check

the model of your PCB in 3D model
prior to running analysis)

2. 3D rendered model of PCB

shown in Jplot

3. Press Run

LuxPCB User Guide 46

  Analysis

4. Analysis progress bar

5. 3D color contour result in

Jplot

6. Modify result with various

viewing modes and tools in
Jplot

LuxPCB User Guide 47

  Analysis

7. Save result image by pressing

Save Image to Report

8. Enter title for the image

Note: The saved images will be stored

in C:\LuxPCB\workspace (or the
designated directory set in General
Options) and used in the Report
Generation

LuxPCB User Guide 48

  Jplot Results
A

A. Program Control Tools

Includes Jplot function controlling buttons

B. Temperature Unit Setting

Displays currently selected temperature unit

C. Temperature Color Key

Displays temperature variations

D. Result Display Window

Displays the color contour plot of the PCB in 3D

LuxPCB User Guide 49

  Jplot Results

A Program Control Tools

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1. File
Manage sessions of Jplot

• Set Directory: Designates directory to

save captured images to
• Exit: Exits Jplot

2. View
Manage result image

• Reset: Resets the view to the default

• Zoom: Zooms in or out
• Set Rotation: Specifies the x and y
viewing angle ( e.g. x30y60)
• Orthogonal View: Selects predefined
viewing angles
• Auto Rotate: Auto rotates the 3D PCB
model when model is clicked
• View Option: Selects the parts of the
PCB model to view

LuxPCB User Guide 50

  Jplot Results

3. Contour
Select contour mode of the PCB
model
• Normal: Monochrome 3D rendered model
• Wireframe: Wireframe 3D rendered model
• Material: Color part distinguished 3D
rendered model
• Thermal: Color temperature distinguished
3D rendered model

4. Options
Access plot option

5. Help
Access LuxPCB User Guide and
information
• Help: Opens up help
• About...: Displays program information

6. Save Image to Report

Save current result view for Report
Generation

7. Return to Full View

Reset result view to default view

8. Select Area to Zoom In

Define area to zoom in

LuxPCB User Guide 51

  Jplot Results

9. Zoom In
Zoom in current result view

10. Zoom Out

Zoom out current result view

11. Isometric View

Display result view in isometric

12. View from positive x axis

Display result viewed from + x axis

13. View from negative x axis

Display result viewed from - x axis

14. View from positive y axis

Display result viewed from + y axis

15. View from negative y axis

Display result viewed from - y axis

16. View from positive z axis

Display result viewed from + z axis

17. View from negative z axis

Display result viewed from - z axis

LuxPCB User Guide 52

  Report Generation

1. Press Generate Report

Note: Units and formats of the

automatically generated report will
follow those in the analysis settings
immediately before the last analysis
Run.

c.

a. b.
2. Set values for the following
areas:

a. Add Contour Plots

b. Select Slides
c. Options

LuxPCB User Guide 53

  Report Generation

Generate Report

a. Add Contour Plots

Select the previously saved

images (from Jplot) from the
list or import images to
include in the report

Note:
- The titles of the previously saved
result images from Jplot will be
listed in the left window

- Import image files from an external

source with the Import button (the
imported files will be listed in the
left window)

- Move the desired images from the

left window to the right window to
include in the report

- In report, the images will be

displayed in the order listed from
top to bottom

LuxPCB User Guide 54

  Report Generation

b. Select Slides

Select preformatted result

slides to include in the report

Note: If Component Sketch box is

checked, the program will prompt
you to select the external image you
would like to include in the report
after Generate Report button is
pressed

The image selection window will

pop up after you designate the
name and location of the report to
be generated

c. Options

Enter report information

LuxPCB User Guide 55

  Report Generation

d. Press Generate Report

e. Designate the save location of

report

f. Power Point report created

LuxPCB User Guide 56

 6
LuxCalc Tools
 h Calc
 Board K

LuxPCB User Guide

  h Calc
C A

A. Convection Type
Select type of convection

B. Input Settings
Define convection input parameters

C. Results Summary
Displays the results

LuxPCB User Guide 58

  h Calc

Natural Convection

1. Select Natural Convection

2. Enter convection input

parameters

3. Press ‘Calculate’ button

LuxPCB User Guide 59

  h Calc

4. Results are displayed

LuxPCB User Guide 60

  h Calc

Forced Convection

1. Select Forced Convection

2. Enter convection input

parameters

3. Select type of boundary

condition for Nusselt number
calculation

Note:
- Uniform heat flux: average Nusselt
number for uniform heat flux in flow
direction and uniform wall
temperature at any cross section

- Uniform wall temperature: average

Nusselt number for uniform wall
temperature

LuxPCB User Guide 61

  h Calc

4. Press Calculate

5. Results are displayed

LuxPCB User Guide 62

  Board K
A

A. Material Selection
Define material properties of the board

B. Input Settings
Define PCB stackup information

C. Results
Displays the results

LuxPCB User Guide 63

  Board K

a.
1. Material Property: b.

Choose among
a. Library
b. Select Commonly Used

2. Define PCB stackup

information:

 Layer Detail:

Enter the values for the

number of layers, thicknesses,
and fill percentages of each of
the layers

LuxPCB User Guide 64

  Board K

3. Press Calculate

4. Results are displayed

Note: The results are also calculated

when Ok button is pressed in Layer
Detail window

Note: The results can be saved to the

library

LuxPCB User Guide 65

 7
Appendix
 Key Terms

LuxPCB User Guide

  Key Terms
PCB
Printed Circuit Board
A board that is used to mechanically support and electrically
connect electronic components using conductive pathways,
tracks or traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a
non-conductive substrate.

Component
A logical unit of structure that includes integrated circuit chip
and packing. The interfaces to the PCB and cold
plate(optional) is included in the model
1. Component Substrate
A logical unit that represents a combined unit of the die
of integrated circuit chip and a substrate
2. Component Encapsulant
A molding that is used to cover the die and the rest of
the substrate to provide protection to the die from the
environment.
3. Board Interface
Accounts for leads and thermal pad or air gap between
the component and PCB
4. PCB with Vias
The part of PCB underneath the component that
includes through-hole vias. The effect of vias are
reflected in the modified value of K in z-direction only.
The modified and orignal K value are smeared using
weighted area rule and the effective Kz value is used for
the area underneath each component.

Cold plate
A solid plate made of highly conductive material that is
connected to the component with the purpose of providing
additional heat flow paths.

LuxPCB User Guide 67

  Key Terms

Conduction bar
A solid block of highly conductive material that connects a
cold plate to a PCB.

Boundary Region
A region of model in which specified conditions are enforced
on the enclosed grid point.

h
Convective coefficient. An average convection heat transfer
coefficient over an area.

Thermal resistance
A property which indicates a material's ability to resist the flow
of heat k Thermal conductivity. The property of a material that
indicates its ability to conduct heat. A reciprocal of thermal
resistance.

Natural convection
A mechanism, or type of heat transport in which the motion of
the fluid is caused solely by differences in density resulting from
temperature gradients and is not aided by a pump or a fan.

Forced convection
A mechanism, or type of heat transport in which fluid motion is
generated by an external source (like a pump, fan, suction
device, etc)

Steady State
A state of a system, in which the recently observed behavior
of the system will continue into the future.

Transient
A state of a system, in which a process variable has been
changed and they system has not reached steady state.

LuxPCB User Guide 68

  Key Terms

2-D board
Representation of a board using two-dimensional shell model

3-D board
Representation of a board using three-dimensional solid model

Thermal Analysis
A type of analysis where the change of temperature in the
system is simulated, subject to given set of boundary
conditions

Stress Analysis
A type of analysis where the change of stress in the system is
simulated, subject to given set of boundary conditions

Ambient temperature
The temperature of the surrounding condition, usually defined
as room temperature. Ambient temperature is subtracted from
estimated surface temperature in order to determine
temperature gradient

Estimated surface temperature

Estimated, average surface temperature. Ambient
temperature is subtracted from estimated surface
temperature in order to determine temperature gradient

Air flow direction

Direction of incoming airflow

Air mass flow

Total amount of air mass moving through a unit surface per
unit time

CFM
Cubic feet per minute. A non-SI unit of measurement of flow of
gas or liquid in a given amount of time.

LuxPCB User Guide 69

  Key Terms

Heat input
Heat dissipation in the component

Nusselt equation
Dimensionless heat transfer coefficient. For forced convection,
different equations are used for different boundary conditions :

1. NuH Average Nusselt number for uniform heat flux in

flow direction and uniform wall temperature at any
cross section
2. NuT Average Nusselt number for uniform wall
temperature

Re
Reynolds Number. A dimensionless parameter that
quantitatively relates the viscous and inertial forces and whose
value determines the transition from laminar to turbulent flow

≝ ρ U∞ x ⁄ μ = U∞ x ⁄ ν

Gr
Grashoff Number. Ratio of buoyant to viscous forces

≝ g β (Ts-T∞) L3⁄ ν2

Pr
Prandtl Number. Ratio of molecular momentum diffusivity to
thermal diffusivity

≝ Cp μ ⁄ k = ν ⁄ α

Ra
Raylengh Number. Product of Grashof and Prandtl numbers

≝ Gr*Pr

LuxPCB User Guide 70