Thermal management for dense, quiet electronics.
Power density keeps climbing while enclosures shrink and acoustic limits tighten. We cover every aspect of cooling in electronics — thermal management, duct and fan optimisation, and the trade-off between airflow, noise and reliability.
1 · Sector needs with respect to CFD
Junction temperature drives component life, so the sector needs conjugate simulation that resolves solid conduction, board spreading and air movement together — early enough to influence enclosure and fan selection.
| REQUIREMENT | WHAT IT DEMANDS OF THE SIMULATION |
|---|---|
| Conjugate heat transfer | Solid conduction through dies, packages, PCB layers and heat sinks solved together with the surrounding air, not as separate estimates. |
| Low-velocity buoyancy | Natural-convection and mixed-convection regimes where buoyancy competes with weak forced flow and standard wall treatments break down. |
| Fan and system curve matching | Operating point prediction for axial and radial fans against real enclosure resistance, including recirculation and stall risk. |
| Acoustic trade-off | Quantifying the noise cost of extra airflow so cooling capacity and sound power targets can be balanced deliberately. |
| Reliability margin | Hotspot identification and derating margin under worst-case ambient, altitude and filter-blockage scenarios. |
2 · Typical representative cases
Cabinet-level study of intake, exhaust and internal recirculation, identifying starved regions and short-circuit paths between hot and cold aisles.
Fin geometry, pitch and base thickness optimised against pressure drop, weight and manufacturability for a given fan curve.
Board-level conjugate model with detailed copper spreading, resolving junction and case temperatures for critical components.
Duct routing, plenum design and fan placement to remove uneven loading, tonal noise and inlet distortion.
Cold plate, immersion and heat-pipe assisted designs for high-power devices where air cooling has run out of headroom.
IP-rated sealed housings relying on conduction and external convection, including solar gain and altitude derating.
3 · Policy and standards verifiable through CFD
Simulation supports — and in several frameworks explicitly permits — demonstration of compliance. Acceptance criteria and validation evidence are agreed with you and the approving body before the study begins.
| FRAMEWORK | HOW CFD SUPPORTS VERIFICATION |
|---|---|
| IEC 62368-1 | Safety of audio/video and IT equipment. Temperature limits for touchable surfaces, insulation and components can be pre-screened by simulation before the formal heating test, reducing failed test iterations. |
| JEDEC JESD51 series | Thermal test and modelling standards. Defines the thermal metrics and boundary conditions (θJA, ΨJT, JEDEC test board) that a defensible electronics thermal model must reproduce. |
| IEC 60529 (IP ratings) | Ingress protection versus cooling. Sealing requirements remove ventilation options; simulation demonstrates that a compliant sealed design still meets temperature limits. |
| ISO 3744 / ISO 7779 | Declared noise emission. Flow-generated and fan noise contributions can be assessed against declared sound-power values while airflow targets are held. |
| ETSI EN 300 019 / GR-63-CORE | Telecom equipment environments. Ambient, altitude and thermal-shock envelopes for telecom sites define the worst-case scenarios a thermal study must cover. |
A complete outsourcing solution: an engineering description of your problem, the geometry or area to analyse and the operating flow conditions are enough to start. All work is carried out by CompFlow personnel at company premises under strict bidirectional non-disclosure agreements, on in-house computing facilities including a 120-core cluster.
Engagement is project-based (predefined deliverables and deadlines) or yearly (a set number of consultancy hours). Related services: CFD Consulting · Code Development · Flow Measurements · 3D Design & Scan · CFD Training · CFD Support.