Electronic Package Cooling Analysis in an Aircraft Using CFD 2017-01-2158

A problem of interest of the aeronautical industry is the positioning of electronic equipment in racks and the associated ventilation system project to guarantee the equipment operational conditions. The relevance of the proper operation of electronic equipment increases considerably when high economical costs, performance reduction and safety are involved. The appropriate operational conditions of the electronic components happen when the working temperature of the equipment installed in the rack is inside a safety project temperature margin. Therefore, the analysis and modelling of heat transfer processes for aircraft rack design becomes mandatory. This paper presents a parametric study considering volumetric and superficial heat generation in electronic equipment within racks in an aircraft. Simulations were performed using the commercial CFD Fluent code and results were compared to experimental data. Simulation results considering volumetric heat generation show higher temperatures of the electronic equipment, with lower velocities in the racks, than those with superficial heat generation.