Integrated cooling concepts for printed circuit boards

Thermal management plays an increasingly dominant role in the design process of\ud electronic products. Component sizes decrease while performance and functional\ud demands increase, resulting in more power dissipation on smaller surfaces. In an\ud effort to cope with these growing thermal challenges, industry continuously seeks\ud cooling equipment with improved heat transfer performance. However, as thermal\ud engineering is traditionally considered toward the end of the design process, the\ud applied cooling solutions are often simply mounted onto the product. As such,\ud cooling equipment for electronics is growing out of proportion compared to the\ud electronic component it is supposed to cool.\ud This thesis describes the development of innovative cooling concepts for electronic\ud products. Thermal criteria are considered during the conceptual design phase, in\ud order to find more integrated solutions. This multidisciplinary approach strives to\ud develop improved thermal management systems for electronic products, in terms\ud of thermal performance, compactness and flexibility. To develop a cost efficient\ud solution focus is also put on utilizing standardized electronic manufacturing processes,\ud such as Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Surface Mounted Device (SMD)\ud production technologies. Cost considerations for high product volumes, enabling\ud mass-market applications, are especially taken into account.\ud This research has led to the identification of two promising cooling concepts for\ud electronic products.\ud The first concept – directly injected cooling – is based on (jet) air cooling. By\ud manufacturing a coolant inlet port into the PCB underneath an electronic component,\ud this component can be cooled directly from the bottom side. This concept\ud excels in the area of high component density cooling, where many components on\ud an electronic board must be cooled both independently and simultaneously.\ud The second concept – integrated heat pipe cooling – integrates a passive, twophase\ud heat transport device directly into the PCB. As the heat transfer mechanism is based on phase change principles, it is capable of transporting large quantities\ud of heat. The heat pipe is constructed inside the laminated structure that makes\ud up the electronic board. This concept allows heat, dissipated by (multiple) components\ud mounted onto the PCB, to be transported through the board structure\ud with a very high efficiency.\ud For both concepts detailed analysis and experimental investigation have been\ud conducted. Both concepts show promising results compared to state-of-the-art\ud cooling systems, in terms of thermal performance and flexibility. The integrated\ud design also leads to a lighter and more compact electronic product.\ud As thermal management systems are produced integrally, a significant cost reduction\ud is reached. This is especially true for high volume production, where\ud electronic manufacturing technologies, such as PCB production and SMD assembly,\ud are appreciated for their low recurring cost. In the future, this allows\ud engineers to design electronic products featuring full integration of thermal management\ud systems and electronic circuitry.\ud This research pushes the boundary further toward more functionality in a smaller\ud form factor for electronic products at a lower cost

Full immersion TRIZ in education

Within the University of Twente, the Netherlands, TRIZ is seen as a powerful methodology that stimulates students in investigating innovative solutions during the product development process. The TRIZ methodology has been part of the Twente curriculum for many years, mainly as small parts of courses and projects. In 2009, TRIZ was presented as an 84 or 140 hour master course for the first time. The course organisation differs from regular university courses both by subject, timing and intensity. The course was offered during the summer break within two weeks, with a workload reaching 10+ hours a day. This paper describes the course itself, course results and the student evaluation of the course

Introducing trimming and function ranking to Solid Works based on function analysis

TRIZ based Function Analysis models existing products based on functional interactions between product parts. Such a function model description is the ideal starting point for product innovation. Design engineers can apply (TRIZ)\ud methods such as trimming and function ranking to this function model to improve their products. This paper describes the introduction of said methods directly into CAD software, since this is software often used by design engineers. As such, design engineers do not have to switch between applications, or worse, convert product data sets, when jumping from product detailing to innovation tasks. The developed software tool tries to actively guide engineers through the innovation process, progressing more quickly through product design and redesign phases. Thus, resulting in shorter lead times and a faster time-to-market for the industr