Transient natural convection in closed and inclined cubical enclosures. Application to electronic equipment thermal regulation

Abstract

Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 1-4 July, 2007.

Certain electronic components are very sensitive to temperature variations during their operations. This is true particularly for electronic systems containing high density integrated circuits, which are increasingly a characteristic of today’s equipment due to the ever evolving process of miniaturisation. The correct operation of such electronic systems is related to their thermal state. Therefore, thermal regulation is required for their proper dynamic operation. This regulation is complex in the case of a high level of integration and confinement to small spaces. The proper sizing of the closed or limited opening casing is, therefore, necessary in order to ensure the correct operation of the equipment in confined spaces. This paper presents a treatment of the particular case of the transient natural 2D convection in a cubical enclosure filled with air. The active walls are differentially heated and maintained isothermic. These walls can remain vertical, but can also be inclined with respect to the gravity field. The dynamic and thermal fields within the case are analysed numerically using the finite volume method. An experimental test rig is developed for the thermal analysis by examining the temperature distribution in the immediate vicinity of the hot wall, which simulates the electronic equipment.