Design And Optimization Of Heat Spreaders And Selection Of Fan In Laptop

Abstract

Technical advancements lead to the need for faster processors and reduced sizes in electronic systems. The urge for faster and compact systems leads to two major problems. Firstly over heating of chips which degrade the chip performance and secondly formation of heat spots on the surface which makes the user uncomfortable. Thermal management engineers, as a result have a major challenge in improving the cooling systems. In this research project simulation using the thermal modeling tool selected is Icepak. The prototype model of the laptop is designed, boundary conditions are applied and analysis is done. The results so obtained in this simulation give a detailed idea of the amount of the heat to be dissipated from the system and the locations of the hotspots. Graphite heat spreader is included in the design and simulated, the results interpret that the graphite heat spreader improves the thermal performance of the system. Graphite heat spreader forces the heat flow only through the plane which decreases the overall global temperature and also it reduces the hotspots in the system as heat spreader acts almost like insulator through the thickness. Graphite is very expensive so the size and shape of the heat spreader has to be optimized. Selection of a suitable fan is the next task; the system performance curve can be drawn from the above analysis for different values of airflow rate. This system curve is imposed on the fan performance curve which in turn gives the operating point. The fan which has its operating point nearest to its best efficient point (BEP) is selected.