In a field where change and growth is inevitable, new electronic packaging problems continually arise. Smaller, more powerful devices are prone to overheating, causing intermittent system failures, corrupted signals, lower MTBF, and outright system failure. Since convection cooling is the heat transfer path most engineers take to deal with thermal problems, it is appropriate to gain as much understanding about the underlying mechanisms of fluid motion as possible.
Thermal Design of Electronic Equipment is the only book that specifically targets the formulas used by electronic packaging and thermal engineers. It presents heat transfer equations dealing with polyalphaolephin (PAO), silicone oils, perfluorocarbons, and silicate ester-based liquids. Instead of relying on theoretical expressions and text explanations, the author presents empirical formulas and practical techniques that allow you to quickly solve nearly any thermal engineering problem in electronic packaging.

The field of electronic packaging continues to grow at an amazing rate. To be successful in this field requires analytical skills, a foundation in mechanical engineering, and access to the latest developments in the electronics field. The emphasis for each project that the electronic packaging engineer faces changes from project to project, and from company to company, yet some constants should continue into the foreseeable future. One of these is the emphasis on ther mal design. Although just a few years ago thermal analysis of electronic equipment was an afterthought, it is becoming one of the primary aspects of many packaging jobs. It seems that the days of just adding a bigger fan to reduce the overheat ing problem are almost over. Replacing that thought is the up-front commitment to CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software code, FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software, and the realization that the problem will only get worse. As the electronic circuit size is reduced, speed is increased. As the power of these systems increases and the volume allowed diminishes, heat flux or density (heat per unit area, W/m 2 or Btulh ft2) has spiraled. Much of the improvement in the reliability and packaging density of electronic circuits can be traced to advances in thermal design. While air cooling is still used extensively, advanced heat transfer techniques using exotic synthetic liquids are becoming more prominent, allowing still smaller systems to be manufactured. The appli cation of advanced thermal management techniques requires a background in fluid dynamics.

The field of electronic packaging continues to grow at an amazing rate. To be successful in this field requires analytical skills, a foundation in mechanical engineering, and access to the latest developments in the electronics field. The emphasis for each project that the electronic packaging engineer faces changes from project to project, and from company to company, yet some constants should continue into the foreseeable future. One of these is the emphasis on ther mal design. Although just a few years ago thermal analysis of electronic equipment was an afterthought, it is becoming one of the primary aspects of many packaging jobs. It seems that the days of just adding a bigger fan to reduce the overheat ing problem are almost over. Replacing that thought is the up-front commitment to CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software code, FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software, and the realization that the problem will only get worse. As the electronic circuit size is reduced, speed is increased. As the power of these systems increases and the volume allowed diminishes, heat flux or density (heat per unit area, W/m 2 or Btulh ft2) has spiraled. Much of the improvement in the reliability and packaging density of electronic circuits can be traced to advances in thermal design. While air cooling is still used extensively, advanced heat transfer techniques using exotic synthetic liquids are becoming more prominent, allowing still smaller systems to be manufactured. The appli cation of advanced thermal management techniques requires a background in fluid dynamics."