Software Integration for Heat Transfer Simulation of Electronic Circuits

Theodor-Adrian MANTEA, Tudor-George ALEXANDRU, Cristina PUPǍZǍ, Adrian-Florin NICOLESCU

Abstract

Thermal and fluid flow simulation have become increasingly important in the design and operation of electronic circuits, improving the performance and preventing their failure. The paper presents a software integration tool for coupled thermal-Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation of power electronics. The purpose is the extension, customization and integration of a platform, based on ANSYS Workbench interface to automatically create, simulate and explore the heat transfer during operation of electronic circuits. The authors examined recent literature, technical solutions, user’s profile, as well as new software functionalities. New trends on the topic were identified, but also drawbacks of the simulation tools available for power electronic components. The main objectives were to find a simple and efficient tool to perform the design, the multi-physics simulation of the electronic circuits and the verification of the results. The design of the electronic circuits has automatically been completed using virtual libraries and devoted software. Compatibility and format conversion have also been discussed. The platform includes acquisition instruments for experimental data that can be employed as input parameters in model preparation stages. The connectivity with the optimization procedures and further developments of the platform were explained. A case study, comprising a forced convection cooling for a printed circuit board, taking into account the heat generated by the active MOSFET components and the film coefficient generated by the fan proved the reliability of the platform.

Keywords

Software, Integration, Simulation, Heat, CFD, ANSYS ICEPAK, 3D CAD, EDA, MATLAB.

View full article