Modeling Natural Convection Cooled Enclosures With CFD

1. Introduction
Solving heat problems has taken on a crucial importance in the development of new electronic devices. Verification of a component’s temperature helps extend a component’s lifetime, prevents thermal damage and reduces thermal strain. In the past,
the priority in allocation of design space tended to be given to electronic design convenience. Cooling solutions scarcely received consideration appropriate for such an important element in the electronic system design. In cases where cooling problems are identified after the prototype system is completed, it is practically impossible to make any substantial modifications to the design, since it constitutes an integrated part of the system’s basic structure. This means that it is essential to be able to estimate cooling performance in the initial stage of electronic system development.