Thermal-Management Basics

Transferring Heat: Heat elimination is a primary concern for optimizing system reliability. In electronic systems, this can involve one or more heat-transfer modes: Conduction: With conduction, hot atoms at the hot side of a solid material move

Sam Davis 2

March 17, 2005

Transferring Heat:
Heat elimination is a primary concern for optimizing system reliability. In electronic systems, this can involve one or more heat-transfer modes:

Conduction:
With conduction, hot atoms at the hot side of a solid material move around more than atoms on the cold side. This chain reaction proceeds across the solid and eventually establishes a smooth hot-to-cold temperature variation.

Convection:
Convection involves a liquid or gas moving past a surface that's either hotter or colder than the fluid. An example is a fan forcing cool air across the hot surface of an IC. The faster the air movement, the better the heat transfer.

Radiation:
As the temperature of a body increases, so does its thermal radiation. When two bodies of different temperature interface with each other, there's a net exchange of radiation from the hot body to the cold, because the hot body radiates more heat.

About the Author

Sam Davis 2

Sam Davis was the editor-in-chief of Power Electronics Technology magazine and website that is now part of Electronic Design. He has 18 years experience in electronic engineering design and management, six years in public relations and 25 years as a trade press editor. He holds a BSEE from Case-Western Reserve University, and did graduate work at the same school and UCLA. Sam was the editor for PCIM, the predecessor to Power Electronics Technology, from 1984 to 2004. His engineering experience includes circuit and system design for Litton Systems, Bunker-Ramo, Rocketdyne, and Clevite Corporation. Design tasks included analog circuits, display systems, power supplies, underwater ordnance systems, and test systems. He also served as a program manager for a Litton Systems Navy program.

Sam is the author of Computer Data Displays, a book published by Prentice-Hall in the U.S. and Japan in 1969. He also authored the book Managing Electric Vehicle Power. He is also a recipient of the Jesse Neal Award for trade press editorial excellence, and has one patent for naval ship construction that simplifies electronic system integration.

You can also check out additional articles on his other author page.