ANSYS Icepak13 0 Tutorials PDF

ANSYS Icepak Tutorials
ANSYS, Inc. Release 13.0

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Table of Contents
1. Using This Manual ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. What's In This Manual ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.2. How To Use This Manual .................................................................................................................... 1
1.2.1. For the Beginner ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2.2. For the Experienced User .......................................................................................................... 1
1.3.Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual ................................................................................ 1
1.4. Mouse Conventions Used In This Manual ........................................................................................... 2
1.5. When To Call Your ANSYS Icepak Support Engineer ............................................................................ 2
2. Finned Heat Sink ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.2. Prerequisites ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.3. Problem Description ......................................................................................................................... 3
2.4. Step 1: Create a New Project .............................................................................................................. 4
2.5. Step 2: Build the Model ..................................................................................................................... 6
2.6. Step 3: Generate a Mesh .................................................................................................................. 22
2.7. Step 4: Physical and Numerical Settings ........................................................................................... 28
2.8. Step 5: Save the Model .................................................................................................................... 29
2.9. Step 6: Calculate a Solution ............................................................................................................. 30
2.10. Step 7: Examine the Results ........................................................................................................... 32
2.11. Step 8: Summary ........................................................................................................................... 42
2.12. Step 9: Additional Exercise ............................................................................................................. 42
3. RF Amplifier ........................................................................................................................................... 43
3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 43
3.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................... 43
3.3. Problem Description ....................................................................................................................... 43
3.4. Step 1: Create a New Project ............................................................................................................ 44
3.5. Step 2: Build the Model ................................................................................................................... 45
3.6. Step 3: Create Assemblies ................................................................................................................ 61
3.8. Step 5: Physical and Numerical Settings ........................................................................................... 65
3.9. Step 6: Save the Model .................................................................................................................... 68
3.10. Step 7: Calculate a Solution ........................................................................................................... 68
3.11. Step 8: Examine the Results ........................................................................................................... 71
3.12. Step 9: Summary ........................................................................................................................... 78
4. Use of Parameterization to Optimize Fan Location .............................................................................. 79
4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 79
4.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................... 79
4.3. Problem Description ....................................................................................................................... 79
4.4. Step 1: Create a New Project ............................................................................................................ 80
4.5. Step 2: Build the Model ................................................................................................................... 81
4.6. Step 3: Creating separately meshed assemblies ................................................................................ 92
4.8. Step 5: Setting up the Multiple Trials ................................................................................................ 94
4.9. Step 6: Creating monitor Points ....................................................................................................... 95
4.10. Step 7: Physical and Numerical Setting ........................................................................................... 96
4.11. Step 8: Save the Model .................................................................................................................. 97
4.13. Step 10: Examine the Results ......................................................................................................... 98
4.14. Step 11: Reports .......................................................................................................................... 102
4.15. Step 12: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 103
Release 13.0 - © SAS IP, Inc. All rights reserved. - Contains proprietary and confidential information
of ANSYS, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates.
Published: 2010-08-03 iii
4.16. Step 13: Additional Exercise to Model Higher Altitude Effect ......................................................... 103
5. Cold-Plate Model with Non-Conformal Meshing ................................................................................ 105
5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 105
5.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 105
5.3. Problem Description ..................................................................................................................... 105
5.4. Step 1: Create a New Project .......................................................................................................... 105
5.5. Step 2: Build the Model ................................................................................................................. 105
5.6. Step 3: Create a separate mesh assembly ....................................................................................... 109
5.7. Step 4: Generate a Mesh ................................................................................................................ 110
5.8. Step 5: Physical and Numerical Settings ......................................................................................... 111
5.10. Step 7: Calculate a Solution .......................................................................................................... 114
5.12. Step 9: Summary ......................................................................................................................... 115
5.13. Step 10: Additional Exercise ......................................................................................................... 115
6. Heat-Pipe Modeling and Nested Non-Conformal Meshing ................................................................ 117
6.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 117
6.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 117
6.6. Step 3: Create Nested Non-conformal Mesh Using Assemblies ........................................................ 123
6.12. Step 9: Summary ......................................................................................................................... 129
7. Non-Conformal Mesh .......................................................................................................................... 131
7.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 131
7.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 131
7.6. Step 3: Generate a Conformal Mesh ............................................................................................... 134
7.11. Step 8: Add an Assembly to the Model ......................................................................................... 137
7.12. Step 9: Generate a Non-conformal Mesh ...................................................................................... 139
7.13. Step 10: Save the Model .............................................................................................................. 140
7.14. Step 11: Calculate a Solution ........................................................................................................ 140
7.15. Step 12: Examine the Results ....................................................................................................... 141
7.16. Step 13: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 141
8. Mesh and Model Enhancement Exercise ............................................................................................. 143
8.1. Objective ...................................................................................................................................... 143
8.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 143
8.3. Skills Covered ............................................................................................................................... 143
8.4. Training Method Used ................................................................................................................... 143
8.5. Loading the Model ........................................................................................................................ 143
8.6. A 15 Minute Exploration ................................................................................................................ 143
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8.7. Step-by-Step Approach ................................................................................................................. 144

8.8. Modification 1: Non-Conformal Mesh of the Heat Sink and Components ........................................ 145
8.9. Modification 2: Resolution of Thin Conducting Plate Intersecting Non-Conformal Region ................ 146
8.10. Modification 3: Non-Conformal Mesh for the “ hi-flux-comps Cluster ..................................... 147
8.11. Modification 4: A Super Assembly... .............................................................................................. 148
8.12. Modification 5: A Simplification Based on Magnitudes of Resistances... ......................................... 149
8.13. Modification 6: A Classic Case for Thin Conducting Plate... ............................................................ 150
8.14. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 151
9. Loss Coefficient for a Hexa-Grille ........................................................................................................ 153
9.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 153
9.2. Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................. 153
9.6. Step 3: Define Parameters and Trials ............................................................................................... 156
9.12. Step 9: Summary ......................................................................................................................... 167
10. Inline or Staggered Heat Sink ........................................................................................................... 169
10.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 169
10.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 169
10.3. Problem Description ................................................................................................................... 169
10.4. Step 1: Create a New Project ........................................................................................................ 170
10.5. Step 2: Build the Model ................................................................................................................ 171
10.6. Step 3: Define Design Variables .................................................................................................... 172
10.7. Step 4: Define Parametric Runs and Assign Primary Functions ...................................................... 175
10.8. Step 5: Generate a Mesh .............................................................................................................. 179
10.9. Step 6: Physical and Numerical Settings ....................................................................................... 179
10.10. Step 7: Save the Model .............................................................................................................. 180
10.11. Step 8: Define Monitor Points ..................................................................................................... 180
10.13. Step 10: Examine the Results ...................................................................................................... 181
10.14. Step 11: Summary ..................................................................................................................... 186
11. Minimizing Thermal Resistance ........................................................................................................ 187
11.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 187
11.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 187
11.6. Step 3: Define Design Variables .................................................................................................... 189
11.9. Step 6: Save the Model ................................................................................................................ 193
11.10. Step 7: Define Primary, Compound, and Objective Functions ....................................................... 193
11.11. Step 8: Calculate a solution ........................................................................................................ 196
11.13. Step 10: Summary ..................................................................................................................... 198
11.14. Step 11: Additional Exercise ....................................................................................................... 198
12. Radiation Modeling .......................................................................................................................... 201
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12.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 201

12.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 201
12.8. Step 5: Solving the model without radiation ................................................................................. 207
12.10. Step 7: Calculate a Solution- No radiation ................................................................................... 209
12.11. Step 8: Surface to Surface (S2S) Radiation Model ........................................................................ 209
12.12. Step 9: Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model ........................................................................ 210
12.13. Step 10: Ray Tracing Radiation Model ......................................................................................... 210
12.15. Step 11: Summary ..................................................................................................................... 213
13. Transient Simulation ......................................................................................................................... 215
13.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 215
13.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 215
13.6. Step 3: Viewing HTML Summary .................................................................................................. 219
13.12. Step 9: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 221
14. Zoom-In Modeling ............................................................................................................................. 223
14.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 223
14.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 223
14.11. Step 8: Create a Zoom-In Model ................................................................................................. 230
14.12. Step 9: Edit the Zoom-in Model .................................................................................................. 232
14.13. Step 10: Mesh the Zoom-In Model ............................................................................................. 234
14.14. Step 11: Zoom-In Physical and Numerical Settings ...................................................................... 235
14.15. Step 12: Examine the Zoom-in Results ........................................................................................ 236
14.16. Step 13: Summary ..................................................................................................................... 237
14.17. Step 14: Additional Exercise ....................................................................................................... 238
15. IDF Import ......................................................................................................................................... 239
15.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 239
15.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 239
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15.6. Step 3: Component Filtration Alternatives .................................................................................... 247

15.7. Step 4: Component Models Alternatives ...................................................................................... 247
15.8. Step 5: Summary ......................................................................................................................... 249
16. Modeling CAD Geometry .................................................................................................................. 251
16.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 251
16.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 251
16.4. Step 1: Creating a New Project ..................................................................................................... 252
16.11. Step 8: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 275
17. Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards ................................................................................... 277
17.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 277
17.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 277
17.6. Conduction Only Model (PCB Without the Components) .............................................................. 287
17.12. PCB With the Actual Components Under Forced Convection ...................................................... 290
17.13. Step 1: Generate a mesh ............................................................................................................ 290
17.14. Step 2: Physical and Numerical Settings ..................................................................................... 291
17.17. Using the Model Layers Separately Option ................................................................................. 292
17.18. Importing Gerber Files .............................................................................................................. 293
17.19. Summary .................................................................................................................................. 294
17.20. Additional Exercise I .................................................................................................................. 294
17.21. Additional Exercise II ................................................................................................................. 295
18. Joule/Trace Heating .......................................................................................................................... 297
18.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 297
18.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 297
18.11. Step 8: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 306
19. Microelectronics packages - Compact models .................................................................................. 307
19.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 307
19.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 307
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19.11. Step 8: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 321
19.12. Step 9: Additional Exercise ......................................................................................................... 321
20. Multi-Level Meshing .......................................................................................................................... 323
20.1. Objective .................................................................................................................................... 323
20.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 323
20.3. Skills Covered .............................................................................................................................. 323
20.4. Training Method Used ................................................................................................................. 323
20.5. Loading the Model ...................................................................................................................... 323
20.6. Step-by-Step Approach ............................................................................................................... 323
20.7. Modification 1: Multi-Level Meshing of the Fan_Guide ................................................................. 326
20.8. Modification 2: Multi-Level Mesh of the Sheetmetal_hs_assy.1 ..................................................... 327
20.9. Generate a Mesh ......................................................................................................................... 328
20.10. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 331
21. Characterizing a BGA-package by Utilizing ECAD Files .................................................................... 333
21.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 333
21.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 333
21.11. Step 8: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 341
22. Zero Slack with Non-Conformal Meshing ......................................................................................... 343
22.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 343
22.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 343
22.5. Step 2: Change Default Units ....................................................................................................... 345
22.7. Step 4: Import Traces ................................................................................................................... 345
22.8. Step 5: Add Slack Values .............................................................................................................. 346
22.9. Step 6: Generate Mesh (with Slack Values) .................................................................................... 347
22.10. Step 7: Zero Slack ...................................................................................................................... 348
22.11. Step 8: Generate Mesh (with Zero Slack) ..................................................................................... 349
22.12. Step 9: Physical and Numerical Settings ..................................................................................... 349
22.13. Step 10: Save the Model ............................................................................................................. 350
22.14. Step 11: Calculate a Solution ...................................................................................................... 350
22.16. Step 13: Summary ..................................................................................................................... 351
23. ANSYS Icepak in ANSYS Workbench Tutorial .................................................................................... 353
23.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 353
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23.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 353

23.11. Step 8: Static Structural Analysis ................................................................................................. 362
23.12. Step 9: Summary ....................................................................................................................... 363
Index ........................................................................................................................................................ 365
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Using This Manual
1.1. What's In This Manual
The ANSYS Icepak Tutorial Guide contains a number of tutorials that teach you how to use ANSYS Icepak to
solve different types of problems. In each tutorial, features related to problem setup and postprocessing are
demonstrated.
Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) is a detailed tutorial designed to introduce the beginner to ANSYS
Icepak. This tutorial provides explicit instructions for all steps in the problem setup, solution, and postpro-
cessing. The remaining tutorials assume that you have read or solved Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat
Sink (p. 3), or that you are already familiar with ANSYS Icepak and its interface. In these tutorials, some
steps will not be shown explicitly.
1.2. How To Use This Manual

Depending on your familiarity with computational fluid dynamics and ANSYS Icepak, you can use this tutorial
guide in a variety of ways.
1.2.1. For the Beginner

If you are a beginning user of ANSYS Icepak you should first read and solve Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat
Sink (p. 3), in order to familiarize yourself with the interface and with basic setup and solution procedures.
You may then want to try a tutorial that demonstrates features that you are going to use in your application.
For example, if you are planning to solve a problem involving radiation, you should look at Tutorial Chapter 12,
Radiation Modeling (p. 201).
You may want to refer to other tutorials for instructions on using specific features, such as grouping objects,
even if the problem solved in the tutorial is not of particular interest to you.
1.2.2. For the Experienced User

If you are an experienced ANSYS Icepak user, you can read and/or solve the tutorial(s) that demonstrate
features that you are going to use in your application. For example, if you are planning to solve a problem
involving radiation, you should look at Tutorial Chapter 12, Radiation Modeling (p. 201).
You may want to refer to other tutorials for instructions on using specific features, such as grouping objects,
even if the problem solved in the tutorial is not of particular interest to you.
1.3. Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual

Several typographical conventions are used in this manual's text to facilitate your learning process.
• An exclamation point (!) in the margin marks an important note or warning.

• Different type styles are used to indicate graphical user interface menu items and text inputs that you
enter (e.g., Open project panel, enter the name projectname).
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Using This Manual
• Instructions for performing each step in a tutorial will appear in standard type. Additional information
about a step in a tutorial appears in italicized type.
• A mini flow chart is used to indicate the menu selections that lead you to a specific panel. For example,
Model → Generate mesh
indicates that the Generate mesh option can be selected from the Model menu at the top of the ANSYS
Icepak main window.
The arrow points from a specific menu toward the item you should select from that menu.
• A mini flow chart is also used to indicate the list tree selections that lead you to a specific panel or
operation. For example,
Problem setup → Basic parameters
indicates that the Basic parameters item can be selected from the Problem setup node in the Model
manager window
• Pictures of toolbar buttons are also used to indicate the button that will lead you to a specific panel.
For example, indicates that you will need to click on this button (in this case, to open the Walls
panel) in the toolbar.
1.4. Mouse Conventions Used In This Manual

The default mouse buttons used to manipulate your model in the graphics window are described in the
ANSYS Icepak User's Guide. Although you can change the mouse controls in ANSYS Icepak to suit your
preferences, this manual assumes that you are using the default settings for the mouse controls. If you
change the default mouse controls, you will need to use the mouse buttons you have specified instead of
the mouse buttons that the manual tells you to use.
1.5. When To Call Your ANSYS Icepak Support Engineer

The ANSYS Icepak support engineers can help you to plan your modeling projects and to overcome any
difficulties you encounter while using ANSYS Icepak. If you encounter difficulties we invite you to call your
support engineer for assistance. However, there are a few things that we encourage you to do before calling:
• Read the section(s) of the manual containing information on the options you are trying to use.
• Recall the exact steps you were following that led up to and caused the problem.
• Write down the exact error message that appeared, if any.
• For particularly difficult problems, package up the project in which the problem occurred (see the User's
Guide for instructions) and send it to your support engineer. This is the best source that we can use to
reproduce the problem and thereby help to identify the cause.
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Finned Heat Sink
2.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to model a finned heat sink using ANSYS Icepak.
In this tutorial you will learn how to:
• Create a new project

• Create blocks, openings, fans, sources, and plates
• Include effects of turbulence in the simulation
• Calculate a solution
• Examine contours and vectors on object faces and on cross-sections of the model
2.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have little to no experience with ANSYS Icepak and so each step will be explicitly
described.
2.3. Problem Description

The cabinet contains an array of five high-power devices, a backing plate, ten fins, three fans, and a free
opening, as shown in Figure 2.1 (p. 4). The fins and backing plate are constructed of extruded aluminum.
Each fan has a total volume flow rate of 18 cfm and each source dissipates power at the rate of 33 W. Ac-
cording to the design objective, the base of the devices should not exceed 65°C when the fins are swept
with air at an ambient temperature of 20°C.
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Finned Heat Sink
Figure 2.1 Problem Specification
2.4. Step 1: Create a New Project

1. Start ANSYS Icepak, as described in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide.
Note
When ANSYS Icepak starts, the New/existing panel will open automatically.
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2. Click New in the New/existing panel to start a new ANSYS Icepak project.
Note
The New project panel will appear.
3. Specify a name for your project and click Create .
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a default cabinet with the dimensions 1 m × 1 m × 1 m, and
display the cabinet in the graphics window.
You can rotate the cabinet around a central point using the left mouse button, or you can
translate it to any point on the screen using the middle mouse button. You can zoom into
and out from the cabinet using the right mouse button. To restore the cabinet to its default
orientation, select Home position in the Orient menu.
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Finned Heat Sink
2.5. Step 2: Build the Model
Note
To build the model, you will first resize the cabinet to its proper size. Then you will create the
backing plate and opening, followed by the elements that will be duplicated (i.e., the fans, fins,
and devices).
1. Resize the default cabinet in the Cabinet panel.
Model → Cabinet
Extra
You can also open the Cabinet panel by selecting the Cabinet item in the Model manager
window and then clicking the Edit object button ( ) in the Object modification toolbar.
Resizing of the cabinet object can also be done in the cabinet Edit window in the lower
right corner of the Main window.
a. In the Cabinet panel, click the Geometry tab.

b. Under Location, enter the following coordinates:
xS 0 xE 0.075
yS 0 yE 0.25
zS 0 zE 0.356
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c. Click Done to resize the cabinet and close the panel.

d. In the Orient menu, select Scale to fit to scale the view of the cabinet to fit the graphics window.
Extra
You can also scale the view by clicking the Scale to fit button ( ).
Extra
After selecting the object to be edited in the model tree, there are several ways you
can open the Edit panel:
• Double click on the object in the model tree, or
– Type CTRL e, or
– Right click the object in the model tree and scroll to Edit object, or
– Click the Edit button in the object geometry window, or
– Click the Edit icon ( ) in the model toolbar.
2. Create the backing plate.
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
The backing plate is 0.006 m thick and divides the cabinet into two regions: the device side
(where the high-power devices are contained in a housing) and the fin side (where the fins
dissipate heat generated by the devices). The backing plate will be represented in the
model by a solid prism block.
Extra
Blocks allow six-sided control for meshing and thermal specifications, whereas plates allow
for only two-sided control.
a. Click the Create blocks button ( ) to create a new block.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a new solid prism block in the center of the cabinet. You will
need to change the size of the block.
b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Blocks panel.

c. Click the Geometry tab.
d. Enter the following coordinates for the block:
xS 0 xE 0.006
yS 0 yE 0.25
zS 0 zE 0.356
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e. Click Done to modify the block and close the panel.

3. Create the free opening on the fin side of the backing plate.
a. Click the Create openings button ( ) to create a new opening.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a free rectangular opening lying in the x-y plane in the center
of the cabinet. You will need to change the size of the opening.
b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Openings panel.

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Finned Heat Sink
d. Enter the following coordinates for the opening:
xS 0.006 xE 0.075
yS 0 yE 0.25
zS 0.356 zE —
e. Click Done to modify the opening and close the panel.

4. Create the first fan.
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Note
Each fan is physically identical to the others, except with respect to its location on the
cabinet wall. To create the set of three fans, you will build a single fan as a template, and
then create two copies, each with a specified offset in the y direction.
a. Click the Create fans button ( ) to create a new fan.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a free circular fan lying in the x - y plane in the center of the
cabinet. You will need to change the size of the fan and specify its mass flow rate.
b. Click the Edit object ( ) to open the Fans panel.

d. Enter the following coordinates for the fan:
xC 0.04
yC 0.0475
zC 0
e. Enter 0.03 for the external radius (Radius), and 0.01 for the internal radius (Int Radius).
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Finned Heat Sink
f. Click the Properties tab.

g. Keep the default Fan type of intake.
h. Under Fan flow, select Fixed and Volume. Enter a volume flow rate of 18 cfm.
Note
Make sure to update the units to cfm by clicking on the triangle button and selecting
cfm from the drop-down list.
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i. Click Done to modify the fan and close the panel.

5. Copy the first fan (fan.1) to create the second and third fans (fan.1.1 and fan.1.2).
a. In the Model manager window, select the fan.1 item under the Model node.
b. Click the Copy object button ( ).
Note
The Copy fan fan.1 panel will open.
c. Enter 2 as the Number of copies.

d. Turn on the Translate option and specify a Y offset of 0.0775.
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Finned Heat Sink
e. Click Apply.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will make two copies of the original fan, each offset by 0.0775 m in the
y direction from the previous one.
6. Create the first high-power device.
Note
Like the fans, each device is physically identical to the others, except with respect to its
location in the cabinet. To create the set of five devices, you will build a single rectangular
planar source as a template, and then create four copies, each with a specified offset in the
y direction.
a. Click the Create sources button ( ) to create a source.
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Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a free rectangular source in the center of the cabinet. You will
need to change the geometry and size of the source and specify its heat source para-
meters.
For planar objects, select the desired plane first, then enter the coordinates.
b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Sources panel.

d. Keep the default selection of Rectangular.
e. In the Plane drop-down list, select Y-Z.
f. Enter the following coordinates for the source:
xS 0 xE —
yS 0.0315 yE 0.0385
zS 0.1805 zE 0.2005
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Finned Heat Sink
g. Click the Properties tab.

h. Under Heat source parameters, set the Total heat to 33 W.
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i. Click Done to modify the source and close the panel.

7. Copy the first device (source.1) to create the other four devices (source.1.1, source.1.2, source.1.3,
and source.1.4).
a. In the Model manager window, select the source.1 item under the Model node.

c. Follow the same instructions that you used above to copy the fans, using a Y offset of 0.045 m
to create 4 copies.
8. Create the first fin.
Note
Like the fans and devices, each fin is physically identical to the others, except with respect
to its location in the cabinet. To create the array of ten fins, you will build a single rectan-
gular plate as a template, and then create nine copies, each with a specified offset in the
y direction.
a. Click the Create plates button ( ) to create a plate.
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a free rectangular plate in the x-y plane in the center of the
cabinet. You will need to change the orientation and size of the plate and specify its
thermal parameters.
b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Plates panel.

d. In the Plane drop-down list, select X-Z.
e. Enter the following coordinates for the plate:
xS 0.006 xE 0.075
yS 0.0125 yE —
zS 0.05 zE 0.331
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f. Click the Properties tab.

g. Under Thermal model, select Conducting thick.
h. Set the Thickness to 0.0025 m.
i. Keep default as the Solid material.
Note
Since the default solid material is extruded aluminum, you need not specify the mater-
ial explicitly here.
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Finned Heat Sink
j. Click Done to modify the plate and close the panel.

9. Copy the first fin (plate.1) to create the other nine fins (plate.1.1, plate.1.2, ..., plate.1.9).
a. In the Model manager window, select the plate.1 item under the Model node.

c. Follow the same instructions that you used above to copy the fans, using a Y offset of 0.025 m
to create 9 copies.
Note
The completed model will look like Figure 2.2 (p. 21), which is shown in the Isometric view
(available in the Orient menu or by clicking the Isometric view button ( )).
Note
You can remove the object names by clicking the Display object names button ( ).
20 Published: 2010-08-03
Figure 2.2 Completed Model for the Finned Heat Sink
10. Check the model to be sure that there are no problems (e.g., objects that are too close together to
allow for proper mesh generation).
Model → Check model
Note
You can also click the Check model button ( ) to check the model.
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
ANSYS Icepak should report in the Message window that 0 problems were found.
11. Check the definition of the modeling objects to ensure that you specified them properly.
View → Summary (HTML)
Note
The HTML version of the summary will be displayed in your web browser. The summary
displays a list of all the objects in the model and all the parameters that have been set for
each object. You can view the detailed version of the summary by clicking the appropriate
object names or property specifications. If you notice any incorrect specifications, you can
return to the appropriate modeling object panel and change the settings in the same way
that you originally entered them.
2.6. Step 3: Generate a Mesh
Note
You will generate the mesh in two steps. First you will create a coarse mesh and examine it to
determine where further mesh refinement is required. Then you will refine the mesh based on
your observations of the coarse mesh.
Extra
For more information on how to refine a mesh locally, please refer to the ANSYS Icepak User's
Guide.
Extra
You can also generate a mesh by clicking the Generate mesh button ( ), which opens the
Mesh control panel.
1. Generate a coarse (minimum-count) mesh.

a. In the Mesh control panel, select Coarse in the Mesh parameters drop-down list.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will update the panel with the default meshing parameters for a coarse
(minimum-count) mesh, shown in the panel below.
b. Set the Mesh units and Minimum gap to mm.
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c. Set the Minimum gap to 1 mm for X, Y, and Z.

d. Set the Max X size to 3.5, the Max Y size to 12.5, and the Max Z size to 17.5.
e. Click the Generate mesh button to generate the coarse mesh.
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
ANSYS Icepak will inform you that your minimum object separation is more than 10%
of the smallest size object in the model. You have the option of stopping the meshing
process, ignoring the warning, or allowing ANSYS Icepak to correct the values.
f. Click Change value and mesh in the Minimum separation in x and Minimum separation in y
panels to accept the recommended changes to your model and continue generating the mesh.
2. Examine the coarse mesh on a cross-section of the model.
a. Click the Display tab.
b. Turn on the Cut plane option.
c. In the Set position drop-down list, select X plane through center.
d. Turn on the Display mesh option.
Note
The mesh display plane is perpendicular to the fins, and aligned with the devices, as
shown in Figure 2.3 (p. 26).
Note
Note that the number of elements may vary slightly on different machines.
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Finned Heat Sink
Figure 2.3 Coarse Mesh on the y-z Plane
e. Use the slider bar to move the plane cut through the model. See Figure 2.4 (p. 27) to examine a
close-up view of the coarse mesh.
Note
You can change the mesh color using the Mesh color option.
26 Published: 2010-08-03
Note
The mesh elements near the fins are too large to sufficiently resolve the problem
physics. In the next step, you will generate a finer mesh.
3. Generate a finer mesh.

a. Click the Generate tab.
b. Under Global settings, select Normal in the Mesh parameters drop-down list.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will update the panel with the default meshing parameters and Minimum
gap values for a “normal" (i.e., finer than coarse) mesh.
4. Click the Generate mesh button in the Mesh control panel to generate the finer mesh.
5. Examine the new mesh.
Note
The graphics display will be updated automatically to show the new mesh. Click the Display
tab and use slider bar to advance the plane cut and view the mesh throughout the model.
Figure 2.4 Fine and Coarse Mesh on the y-z Plane
6. Turn off the mesh display.
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Finned Heat Sink
a. Click the Display tab in the Mesh control panel.

b. Deselect the Display mesh option.
c. Click Close to close the Mesh control panel.
2.7. Step 4: Physical and Numerical Settings
Note
Before starting the solver, you will first review estimates of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers to
check that the proper flow regime is being modeled.
1. Check the values of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers.
Solution settings → Basic settings
a. Click the Reset button.
Note
Reset calculates the Reynolds and Peclet numbers.
b. Check the values printed to the Message window.
Note
The Reynolds and Peclet numbers are approximately 13, 000 and 9, 000, respectively,
so the flow is turbulent. ANSYS Icepak will recommend setting the flow regime to tur-
bulent.
Note that these values are only estimates, based on the current model setup. Actual
values may vary, and may need to be verified, depending on your design.
c. Click Accept to save the solver settings.

2. Enable turbulence modeling.
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2.8. Step 5: Save the Model

a. In the Basic parameters panel, select Turbulent as the Flow regime.
b. Keep the default Zero equation turbulence model.
a. Turn radiation off by clicking Off next to Radiation.
b. Click Accept to save the new settings.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will save the model for you automatically before it starts the calculation, but it is
a good idea to save the model (including the mesh) yourself as well. If you exit ANSYS Icepak before
you start the calculation, you will be able to open the job you saved and continue your analysis
in a future ANSYS Icepak session. (If you start the calculation in the current ANSYS Icepak session,
ANSYS Icepak will simply overwrite your job file when it saves the model.)
File → Save project
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
Note that you can click the button in the File commands toolbar.
2.9. Step 6: Calculate a Solution

1. Start the calculation.
Solve → Run solution
Note
You can click the Run solution button ( ) in the Model and solve toolbar.
2. Keep the default settings in the Solve panel.

3. Click Start solution to start the solver.
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Note
There are no universal metrics for judging convergence, a good indicator is when the
solution no longer changes with more iterations and when the residuals have decreased
to a certain degree. The default criterion is that each residual will be reduced to a value of
− −
less than except the energy residual, for which the default criterion is . It is a
good idea to judge convergence not only by examining residuals levels, but also by monit-
oring relevant integrated quantities.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will begin to calculate a solution for the model, and a separate window will
open where the solver will print the numerical values of the residuals. ANSYS Icepak will
also open the Solution residuals graphics display and control window, where it will display
the convergence history for the calculation.
Upon completion of the calculation, your residual plot will look something like Figure
2.5 (p. 32).
Note that the actual values of the residuals may differ slightly on different machines, so
your plot may not look exactly the same as Figure 2.5 (p. 32).
Note
You can zoom in the residual plot by using the left mouse.
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Finned Heat Sink
Figure 2.5 Residuals
4. Click Done in the Solution residuals window to close it.
2.10. Step 7: Examine the Results

ANSYS Icepak provides a number of ways to view and examine the solution results, including:
• plane-cut views
• object-face views
The following steps illustrate how to generate and display each view.
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Note
The objective of this exercise is to determine whether the air flow and heat transfer associated
with the heat sink (fans and fins) are sufficient to maintain device temperatures below 65 degrees.
You can accomplish this by creating different plane cuts and monitoring the velocity vector and
temperature on it. Plane-cut views allow you to observe the variation in a solution variable across
the surface of a plane.
You will use the Plane cut panel to view the direction and magnitude of velocity across a hori-
zontal plane. To open the Plane cut panel, select Plane cut in the Post menu.
1. Display velocity vectors on a plane cut on the fin side of the enclosure.
Post → Plane cut
Extra
You can also open the Plane cut panel by clicking the Plane cut button ( ).
a. In the Name field, enter the name cut-velocity.

b. In the Set position drop-down list, select X plane through center.
c. Turn on the Show vectors option.
d. Click Create.
e. In the Orient menu, select Orient positive X.
Note
This will orient the model as shown in Figure 2.6 (p. 34). You can see that the maximum
velocity occurs at the fan blades. The lowest velocity occurs between the top fin and
the adjacent cabinet wall, and between the bottom fin and the adjacent cabinet wall.
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Finned Heat Sink
Extra
You can also select the positive orientation by clicking the Orient positive X button
( ).
Figure 2.6 Velocity Vectors on the Fin Side of the Enclosure
f. In the Plane cut panel, turn off the Active option.
Note
This will temporarily remove the velocity vector display from the graphics window, so
that you can more easily view the next postprocessing object. You can later open the
Inactive folder in the model tree and locate cut_velocity. cut_velocity can
be either deleted or reactivated by dragging it to Trash or to the Post-processing
folder, as well as with the right click dialog.
2. Display contours of temperature on the fin side of the enclosure.

a. Click New in the Plane cut panel.
b. In the Name field, enter the name cut-temperature.
d. Turn on the Show contours option and click Parameters.
Note
The Plane cut contours panel will open.
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e. Keep the default selection of Temperature.

f. For Shading options, keep the default selection of Banded.
g. For Color levels, select Calculated and then select This object from the drop-down list.
h. Click Apply.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will compute the color range for the display based on the range of
temperatures on this plane cut.
i. Click Done to save the new settings, close the panel, and update the graphics display.
Note
The graphics display will be updated to show the temperature contour plot. The actual
values of temperature may slightly differ on different systems. You can use the scroll
bar to change the x-location of the plane cut.
Note
Figure 2.7 (p. 36) shows that heat conducts through the fins from the sources in both
directions.
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Finned Heat Sink
Figure 2.7 Temperature Contours on the Fin Side of the Enclosure
j. In the Plane cut panel, turn off the Active option.

3. Display velocity vectors superimposed with pressure contours.
a. Click New in the Plane cut panel.
b. In the Name field, enter the name cut-prvelocity.
d. Turn on the Show vectors option to enable the display of velocity vectors.
e. Specify the display of contours of pressure.
i. Turn on the Show contours option and click Parameters.
Note
The Plane cut contours panel will open.
ii. In the Plane cut contours panel, select Pressure in the Contours of drop-down list.
Tip
Click the triangle button located next to the Contours of text field to open the
drop-down list.
iii. For Shading options, keep the default selection of Banded.

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iv. For Color levels, select Calculated and This object.

v. Click Done to save the new settings, close the panel, and update the graphics display.
Note
The graphics display will be updated to show the pressure contour plot superim-
posed on the velocity vector plot.
Note
Figure 2.8 (p. 37) shows isolated regions of high pressure immediately downstream of
the fans, including local maxima at the upstream tips of the fins.
Figure 2.8 Pressure Contours and Velocity Vectors on the Fin Side of the Enclosure
f. In the Plane cut panel, turn off the Active option.

4. Display contours of temperature on all five high-power devices.
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Finned Heat Sink
Note
An object-face view allows you to examine the distribution of a solution variable on one or
more faces of an object in the model. To generate an object-face view, you must select the
object and specify both the variable to be displayed (e.g., temperature) and the attributes
of the view (e.g., shading type).
You will use the Object face panel to create a solid-band object-face view of temperature
on all five high-power devices and on the backing plate. To open the Object face panel,
select Object face in the Post menu.
Post → Object face
Extra
You can also open the Object face panel by clicking the Object face button ( ).
a. In the Name field, enter the name face-tempsource.

b. In the Object drop-down list, click source.1, hold down the Shift key, and click source.1.4 to
select all the sources, and click the Accept button.
c. Turn on the Show contours option and click Parameters.
Note
The Object face contours panel will open.
d. In the Object face contours panel, keep the default selection of Temperature in the Contours
of drop-down list.
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e. For Shading options, keep the default selection of Banded.

f. For Color levels, select Calculated and This object.
g. Click Done to save the new settings, close the panel, and update the graphics display.
Note
The graphics display will be updated to show the temperature contours on the sources.
h. Use your right mouse button to zoom in and look more closely at each source.
Note
Figure 2.9 (p. 40) shows a view with the temperature contours on all five sources. The
temperature distributions are similar for all sources: warm in the center and decreasing
in temperature toward the edges of the source. Temperature distributions on the top
and bottom sources are similar to each other, as are distributions on the two remaining
sources.
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Finned Heat Sink
Figure 2.9 Temperature Contours on the Five Devices
i. In the Object face panel, turn off the Active option.

5. Display line contours of temperature on the backing plate.
a. Click New in the Object face panel.
b. In the Name field, enter the name face-tempblock.
c. In the Object drop-down list, select block.1 and click Accept.
d. Turn on the Show contours option and click Parameters.
Note
The Object face contours panel will open.
e. In the Object face contours panel, keep the default selection of Temperature in the Contours
of drop-down list.
f. For Contour options, deselect Solid fill and select Line.
g. For Level spacing, select Fixed and set the Number of contour lines to 200.
h. For Color levels, select Calculated and This object.
i. Click Done to save the new settings, close the panel, and update the graphics display.
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Note
The graphics display will be updated to show the temperature contours on the block.
Figure 2.10 (p. 41) shows that most of the heat is confined to the region near the
sources. The maximum temperature occurs near the middle three sources.
Figure 2.10 Temperature Contours on the Backing Plate
6. Save the post-processing objects created.

a. Select Save post objects to file in the Post menu.
b. Click on Save in the File selection window that opens.
Note
All objects created during post-processing will be saved within a post_objects file for
future retrieval.
Note
ANSYS Icepak does not automatically save the post-processing objects created in the
current session. When you exit ANSYS Icepak, they will be deleted unless they are saved
using the above steps.
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Finned Heat Sink
2.11. Step 8: Summary

In this tutorial, you set up and solved a model in order to determine the ability of the specified heat sink to
maintain source temperatures below 65 °C. Postprocessing results show that the maximum source temper-
ature is about 54 °C, indicating that the heat sink provides adequate cooling for the sources.
2.12. Step 9: Additional Exercise

To determine the effectiveness of the heat sink under conditions involving the failure of the middle fan,
deactivate or edit fan.1.1, go to the Properties tab and turn on Failed under Options, assign a free-area
ratio of 0.3, and click Done. Next, remesh the model, solve it again using a different solution ID, and examine
the new results.
Note
When you are finished examining the results, you can end the ANSYS Icepak session by clicking
Quit in the File menu.
File → Quit
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RF Amplifier
3.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to model an RF Amplifier using ANSYS Icepak.
• Create a new project.

• Create openings, fans, sources, enclosure, PCB, heat sink and walls.
• Use non-conformal meshing.
• Include effects of gravity and turbulence in the simulation.
• Calculate a solution.
• Examine contours and vectors on object faces and on cross-sections of the model.
3.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have little experience with ANSYS Icepak, but that you are generally familiar
with the interface. If you are not, please review the sample session in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide.

RF Amplifiers are typically sealed enclosures that are placed within larger systems. They present a challenge
from the thermal management perspective because no direct exchange of air exists between the interior
of the amplifier and the ambient. The common method of cooling such subsystems is to mount a large heat
sink on the amplifier housing that cools all the devices within the enclosure. A simplified version of an RF
amplifier (Figure 3.1 (p. 44)) will serve as the model for this tutorial.
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RF Amplifier
Figure 3.1 Schematic of the RF Amplifier

Note
44 Published: 2010-08-03
Note
3. Specify the name amplifier for your project and click Create.
Note
display the cabinet in the graphics window.
translate it to any point on the screen using the middle mouse button. You can zoom into
and out from the cabinet using the right mouse button. To restore the cabinet to its default
orientation, select Home position in the Orient menu.
Note
To build the model, you will first resize the cabinet to its proper size. Then you will create the
amplifier housing, devices (heat sources), PCB, heatsink, fan and other geometrical objects.
1. Resize the default cabinet and create an opening on one side of the cabinet.
Model → Cabinet
Select the cabinet in the Model tree and specify the following in the object geometry window:
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RF Amplifier
Extra
After selecting the object to be edited in the model tree, there are several ways you can
open the Edit panel:
• Double click on the object in the model tree, or
– Type CTRL e, or
– Right click the object in the model tree and scroll to Edit object, or
– Click the Edit button in the object geometry window, or
– Click the Edit object icon ( ) in the model toolbar
Figure 3.2 The Cabinet Geometry Tab Panel
One side of this cabinet has an opening. Assign Properties on this boundary, in the Properties tab
of the Cabinet object panel (Figure 3.3 (p. 47)):
• Change the Max y Wall type to be an Opening.
• Click Done to accept the inputs and close the panel.
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Figure 3.3 The Cabinet Boundary Panel
2. Create the Y and Z faces of the amplifier housing as an enclosure.
Note
We will create the Y and Z faces of the amplifier housing using the enclosure object.
Create an enclosure. Click on the Create enclosures icon ( ) in the model toolbar. Then specify the
following Name and dimensions:
In the Properties tab specify the followings:

• Change the Boundary type to Open for Min X and Max X. For others, retain the boundary type
as Thin.
• Specify the Solid material as Polystyrene-rigid-R12.
Note
Hint: You have to scroll down the list to find this material.
• Click Done.
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RF Amplifier
Figure 3.4 The Enclosure Panel
3. Create the Xmin face of the amplifier housing as a wall.
Note
The wall will cover the Xmin side of the enclosure.
Click on the Create walls icon ( ) in the model toolbar to create a new wall.
In the object edit window, name the wall Xmin and change the plane to Y-Z.
Note
We will use the align tools to place the wall at the desired locations and the same can be
also achieved by specifying the dimensions/locations of the wall in the Geometry tab.
However, the align tools are faster and recommended.
To start the process, left click Morph Edges icon ( ) in the model toolbar. Now, follow the step-by-
step procedure described below:
a. Select the Zmax edge (Figure 3.5 (p. 49)) of the wall by left mouse clicking it in the graphical
window. Notice that it turns red to indicate that it has been selected.
b. Click the middle mouse button to accept this edge.
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c. Select the lower Zmax edge (Figure 3.5 (p. 49)) of the enclosure with the left mouse button. Notice
that it turns yellow to indicate that it has been selected.
Figure 3.5 Schematic Showing Edge Identities for Alignment
d. Click the middle mouse button to accept. The wall Xmin should have now been moved and resized.
Now the wall should extend to the entire Xmin side of the enclosure.
To specify the remaining wall dimension, stay in the match edge mode and complete the following
steps:
a. Click the Zmin edge of the wall with the left mouse button. Be sure that it is highlighted in red
and not the enclosure edge. By repeatedly clicking the left mouse button, ANSYS Icepak will cycle
through all possible edges.
b. Click the middle mouse button to accept.
c. Using the left mouse button, click the lower Zmin edge of the enclosure.
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RF Amplifier
d. Click the middle mouse button to accept. The wall should now form the Xmin face of the enclosure.
e. Click the right mouse button to exit the Match edge mode.
The resulting model is shown in Figure 3.6 (p. 50) with shading to highlight new definitions. Shading
is available under the Info tab in most panels.
Figure 3.6 Geometry with Wall
Double click on the newly created wall object (Xmin) in the model tree to open the Walls panel. Now
specify the following properties to the wall in the Properties tab.
a. Specify a Wall thickness of 1 mm (0.001 m).
b. Specify the Solid material as Polystyrene-rigid-R12 under Plastics.
c. Specify the Thermal data as External conditions and click the Edit button.

i. Toggle on Enabled under Heat transfer coefficient, and give it a Base value of 5 W/K- .
ii. Click Done to close the Wall external thermal conditions panel.
iii. Click Done to close Walls panel (Figure 3.7 (p. 51))
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Figure 3.7 The Walls Panel
4. Create the PCB.
Note
The PCB will cover the Xmax side of the enclosure.
Click on the Create printed circuit boards icon ( ) in the Model toolbar to create a PCB and double
click on the PCB object in the Model tree:
a. Specify the following in the geometry window:
b. Specify the parameters for Tracing Layers (make sure that you enter both columns) in the
Properties window as shown in Figure 3.8 (p. 52). There are four internal layers.
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RF Amplifier
Please notice that the Effective conductivity in plane and normal directions will be updated
when you click on the Update button (Figure 3.8 (p. 52)).
Figure 3.8 The Printed circuit boards Panel
c. Click Done to close the Printed circuit boards panel.

5. Create the devices as 2D sources.
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There are 12 devices on the bottom side of the PCB. Theses devices will be created as 2D sources. The
following steps will show you how to create one and then use the copy utility to create the remaining
11 sources.
a. Click on the Create sources icon ( ) in the model toolbar to create a source and double click
on the source object in the model tree.
b. Specify the following name, dimensions, and properties to the source.
c. Specify the Total heat to 7 W in the Properties tab (Figure 3.9 (p. 53)) and click Done.
Figure 3.9 The Sources Panel
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RF Amplifier
d. Create the other devices (sources) object by copying the device twice and translating it to z=
0.055 m. Please follow the steps below for copying the source object.
i. Right mouse click on the source object and choose the Copy object option.
ii. Specify the Number of copies to 2.
iii. Toggle the Translate option.
iv. Specify the Z offset to 0.055 m.
v. Click Apply to copy the object.
Figure 3.10 The Copy source device Panel
e. Similarly, create the other devices (sources) object by copying the sources created in the previous
steps.
i. Left mouse click and select device, hold down the CTRL key, and select device.1, and
device.2. Right mouse click and choose the Copy object option.
ii. Specify the Number of copies to 3.
iii. Toggle the Translate option.
iv. Specify the Y offset to 0.064 m.
v. Click Apply to copy the object.
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Note
Please note that following these two copy actions, you should now have 12 sources
(Figure 3.11 (p. 55)) in a four rows by three columns pattern.
Figure 3.11 Geometry with Devices
6. Create the heat sink.
Note
The extruded fin heat sink with the flow in the y direction will be created to remove the
heat from the PCB.
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RF Amplifier
a. Click on the Create heat sinks icon ( ) in the Model toolbar to create a heat sink and double
click on the heat sink object in the model tree. Specify the following dimensions in the geometry
window.
b. In the heat sink object panel, select the Geometry tab, and specify a Base height of 0.004 m and
an Overall height of 0.04 m.
c. Specify the properties of the heat sink as shown in Figure 3.12 (p. 56) below. Note that we are
inputting Type, Flow direction, Detailed Fin type, and Fin geometry.
Figure 3.12 The Heat sinks Panel
d. Click Done to close the Heat sinks panel.
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7. Create the fan.
Note
For this model, we will make use of ANSYS Icepak's fan library and search tool. Select and
expand Libraries in the model toolbar (Figure 3.13 (p. 58)).
a. Right click on Libraries in the model tree and choose Search fans.
Note
The Search fan library dialog will appear.
i. In the Physical tab, deactivate the Min fan size and enter 80 mm for the Max fan size.
ii. Select the Thermal/flow tab, enable the Min flow rate option and specify a Min flow rate
of 80 cfm.
iii. Click on the Search button.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will list all the fans in its libraries that satisfy these conditions.
b. Select the fan called delta.FFB0812_24EHE in the Name column by clicking on it with the
left mouse button.
c. Click Create to load the fan into the model.
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RF Amplifier
Figure 3.13 Search Fan library Panel
d. Now, we need to specify the location of the fan created in the previous steps. Resize the fan
geometry based on the Figure 3.14 (p. 59) (note X-Z plane).
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Figure 3.14 The Fans Panel
The final geometry should look like Figure 3.15 (p. 60).
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RF Amplifier
Figure 3.15 The Final Geometry
View → Summary (HTML)
Note
The HTML version of the summary will be displayed in your web browser. The summary
displays a list of all the objects in the model and all the parameters that have been set for
each object. You can view the detailed version of the summary by clicking the appropriate
object names or property specifications. If you notice any incorrect specifications, you can
return to the appropriate modeling object panel and change the settings in the same way
that you originally entered them.
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3.6. Step 3: Create Assemblies
3.6. Step 3: Create Assemblies
Note
For both organizational purposes and to have a finer mesh in the fan and enclosure, we will create
two assemblies. The first assembly will consist of the RF amplifier and heat sink. The second as-
sembly will consist only of the fan.
1. To create the amplifier assembly,

a. Select the +X view by either using the icon in the shortcut menu or simply press Shift X and
then Shift S to fit to scale the view in the graphics window.
b. While pressing Shift, drag a bounding box around the amplifier using the left mouse button.
Release the mouse button and notice that all of the objects forming the amplifier and heat sink
have been selected in the model tree.
c. Right click on the highlighted enclosure (Housing) in the model tree and select Create assembly
from the list. All of the selected objects have now been added to the assembly,
d. In the Object geometry window, rename the assembly “assembly.1" to amplifier and click
the Apply button.
2. Now, we will create a new assembly for the fan object.
a. Click on the Create assemblies icon ( ) in the model toolbar to create a new assembly.
b. Using the left mouse button, drag the fan, delta.FFB0812_24EHE, into the new assembly to
add it to this assembly.
c. In the object geometry window, rename this assembly as fan and click Apply.
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Figure 3.16 Two assemblies
Note
Before generating a mesh, we will specify the slack values for the assemblies. Slack values represent
a finite offset from an object to a non-conformal mesh boundary and are required when meshing
assemblies separately.
1. Edit the assemblies (right mouse click the assembly name in the model toolbar and select Edit object)
and then select the Meshing tab.
2. Toggle on Mesh separately and then specify the slack values indicated in the following table.
Table 3.1 Slack Values for the Amplifier and Fan

Name Min X Min Y Min Z Max X Max Y Max Z
Amplifier 0 0.02 0.01 0 0.02 0.01
Fan 0.01 0 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.01
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Figure 3.17 Fan Assemblies Panel
3. To create the mesh, go to Model → Generate Mesh. The Mesh control panel (Figure 3.18 (p. 64))
will pop up. The Mesh control panel can also be opened by clicking on the Generate mesh icon ( )
in the shortcut menu.
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Figure 3.18 The Mesh control Panel
4. As a first step, generate a coarse mesh by choosing Coarse under Global settings. Click on Generate
mesh to create a mesh.
Please accept “ Change value and mesh " when the warning message pops up. This warning message
appears when the minimum gap is specified less than the 10% of the smallest feature in the model.
5. To view the mesh, display a plane-cut view through the center of the cabinet, perpendicular to the
fins (y-z plane). To create a plane-cut, follow these steps:
a. Click on the Display tab at the top of the Mesh control panel.
b. Toggle on Display mesh and Cut plane.
c. In the Plane location panel, set position to X plane through center in the drop-down list.
d. PressShift X to orient to the +X direction and view the newly created plane cut.
e. Move the plane using the slider bar.
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Make sure that the amplifier assembly is expanded and inspect the cells adjacent to the heat sink fins.
Notice that the resolution is coarse (Figure 3.19 (p. 65)), with only a couple of cells between fins. As
flow passes between the fins, boundary layers will grow and their degree of resolution will dictate the
accuracy of the simulation. It is advisable to have at least three to four cells between fins to adequately
resolve the growth of boundary layers. Better resolution is achieved by refining the mesh.
Figure 3.19 Coarse and Fine Mesh
6. Choose Normal under Global settings in the Generate tab. Click Generate and inspect the resulting
mesh. Note that the number of cells between adjacent fins have increased (Figure 3.19 (p. 65)),
providing better resolution of the boundary layers.
It is also a good practice to select the Quality tab and review the Face Alignment, Quality, Volume,
and Skewness. The histograms show the figure of merit (Face Alignment, Quality Ratio, Volume or
Skewness) versus number of cells. By clicking on the bars that form the histogram, the particular cells
with that value of quality are displayed in the graphics window.
7. Once you have explored the mesh quality, click Close to dismiss the Mesh control dialog box.
Note
Before starting the solver, you will first review estimates of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers to
check that the proper flow regime is being modeled.
1. Check the values of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers.
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a. Click the Reset button.
b. Check the values printed to the Message window.
Note
The Reynolds and Peclet numbers are approximately 56282.6 and 39876.6 respectively,
so the flow is turbulent. ANSYS Icepak will recommend setting the flow regime to tur-
bulent.
Note that these values are only estimates, based on the current model setup. Actual
values may vary, and may need to be verified, depending on your design.
c. Click Accept to save the solver settings.

2. Enable turbulence modeling.

a. In the Basic parameters panel, select Turbulent as the Flow regime and keep the default Zero
equation turbulence model.

b. Turn on the Gravity vector option and make sure that gravity in y-direction is -9.8 m/
c. Click Accept to save the new setting.
Note
Once done, the panel will appear as shown in Figure 3.20 (p. 67).
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Figure 3.20 Basic parameters Panel
3. Return to the Basic settings panel, specify the number of iterations to 300, click Reset and then Accept
again.
4. Set up the temperature limits for all the sources.
Model → Power and temperature limits

a. Enter a new value of 60°C for Default temperature limit.
b. Click on All to default.
c. Click Apply and then click Accept to close the panel.
Note
The default temperature limit is used during postprocessing to identify components

that exceed their limits or components that are close to this limit. This value is not
used to solve the problem.
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Note
Note
You can click the save button ( ) in the File commands toolbar.

1. Create monitors.
Note
It is good practice to monitor the solution progress for certain objects. Dragging the object
in the model tree and placing it in the Points folder can accomplish this.
a. Drag device.2 and cabinet_default_side_maxY into the Points folder.

b. Right mouse click on the cabinet_default_side_maxY in the Points folder.
c. Select Edit info and deselect temperature and activate Velocity (Figure 3.21 (p. 69)).
d. Click Accept to accept the modifications and to dismiss the per-object's Modify point panel.
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Figure 3.21 The Modify point Panel
2. Start the calculation.
Note
Note that you can click on the Run solution icon ( ) in the model and solve toolbar to
display the Run solution panel.
a. Turn on the Write overview of results when finished button in the Options tab.
b. Click on the Start solution button to start the solver. While iterating the solution, two new windows
will pop up showing convergence history, Figure 3.22 (p. 70) and Figure 3.23 (p. 71).
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Figure 3.22 Convergence Plot
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Figure 3.23 Monitor Plot
Note
Once the model has converged (Figure 3.22 (p. 70) and Figure 3.23 (p. 71)), ANSYS Icepak will
automatically generate a solution overview report. This report contains detailed information, such
as object-based mass and volumetric flow rates, fan operating points, heat flows for objects with
specified power, heat flows for objects that communicate with the ambient, maximum temperat-
ures, and overall balances.
Please carefully review the solution overview and note that the solution satisfies conservation of
mass and energy (scroll to the bottom of the report). Also note the fan operating point. The
solution overview is automatically saved and can be reopened from Report → Solution overview.
1. Compare the object temperature values for all sources with the temperature limits assigned.
Post → Power and Temperature values
Note
Power and temperature limit setup window will appear.
• Click Show too hot.
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Note
The Power and Temperature limit setup will show the default temperature limit and the
resulting maximum temperature value for each source next to them.
If an assembly is expanded in the model tree, ANSYS Icepak will show all the critical objects in red
color if the resulting temperature of any object exceeds the temperature limit specified.
• Click Accept to close the dialog box.
2. Create object faces.
Note
Ensure that the amplifier and fan assemblies are expanded, so that the fins are visible. Next,
press Shift Z to orient the view in the Z direction.
a. To create an object face, click the Object face icon ( ) in the shortcut toolbar.
b. In the Object drop down list, specify heatsink.1 as the object and click Accept.
c. Select Show contours and click the Parameters button (adjacent to show contours) to access
the Object face contours edit dialog box.
• Select This object, adjacent to Calculated to use the object-based range.
• Click Done to close the Object face contours panel.
d. Click Done to close the Object face panel.
Figure 3.24 Object Face Panel
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Note
Using the mouse, rotate the heat sink to examine the surface temperature distribution.
Notice that the location of the devices is clearly discernible on the bottom of the heat sink.
Also note that the devices get progressively hotter in the flow direction (Figure 3.25 (p. 73)).
Figure 3.25 Temperature Contours on the Face
Note
Notice that face.1 has now appeared in the model tree in the Post processing folder. Right
mouse click on face.1 and note that you can deactivate, edit, and delete it. You can move
face.1 into the Inactive folder to inactivate it. Face.1 can be either deleted or reactivated
by dragging it to Trash or to the Postprocessing folder, as well as with the right mouse click
dialog.
3. Create plane cuts.
a. To create a plane cut, click the Plane cut icon ( ) in the shortcut toolbar.
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b. Select the Set position as Point and normal and select Show vectors, as shown in the panel
below. Enter PX, PY and PZ according to Figure 3.26 (p. 74).
Figure 3.26 Plane Cut
c. Click the Parameters button adjacent to Show vectors.

d. Select Uniform in Display options group box and specify value as 5000. The Uniform option for
the velocity will put the vectors uniformly in the 5000 data points.
e. Select This object in the Color levels group box and click Done to close the panel.
The vector plots will be shown in the graphics window (Figure 3.27 (p. 75)).
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Figure 3.27 Velocity Vectors on the Mid X Plane
Note
Examining the vector plot, we can see that the flow pattern is symmetric, with two large
recirculating zones adjacent to the fan. Zoom into the region directly in front of the fan
and notice that two smaller recirculating zones exist in front of the hub. These local effects
can be important when objects are close to the hub region.
4. Create isosurfaces.
a. Click the Isosurface icon ( ) in the shortcut toolbar.

b. Specify Temperature as the Variable, input a Value of 55°C, and select Show contours and click
Parameters. In the Isosurface contours panel, select Smooth for Shading options and This
object next to Calculated. Click Done.
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c. Click Update in the Isosurface panel and notice that an isosurface has been placed around all of
the sources, indicating that they have temperatures in excess of 55°C (Figure 3.28 (p. 76)).
Figure 3.28 Isosurface of Temperature 55°C
d. Now, change the Variable to Speed and input a Value of 4. Notice that the regions with velocities
in excess of 4 m/s are now displayed (Figure 3.29 (p. 77)).
e. Once you have examined the isosurface, delete or deactivate it using one of the previously de-
scribed methods.
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Figure 3.29 Isosurface of Speed 4 m/s
5. Create variation plots.
a. Click the Variation plot icon ( ) in the shortcut toolbar.
Note
Before creating the variation plots, please ensure that the amplifier assembly is expan-
ded, so that the fins are visible. Next, press Shift Z to orient the view in the Z direction.
b. Within the variation plot dialog, complete the following:

• Specify the Variable as UY.
• Click the From screen button.
• Click the left mouse button on the center on the heat sink fins.
• Click Create.
c. An xy-plot of UY velocity versus z-coordinate should now be visible. Toggle on the Symbols
button and notice that the velocity profile across the solution domain is now represented with
white dots at the postprocessing locations. Notice that ANSYS Icepak has created a line that is
colored locally according to the UY velocity magnitude.
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In this tutorial, you have learned about the usage of enclosure, PCB, source and heat sink objects. The use
of ANSYS Icepak's fan library and search tool has been explained. Meshing of assemblies and post-processing
features in ANSYS Icepak were also explained.
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Use of Parameterization to Optimize Fan Location
4.1. Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate the following ANSYS Icepak features with the help of a small
system level model.
• Use network blocks as one way of modeling packages.

• Specify contact resistance using side specifications of a block object.
• Define a variable as a parameter and solve the parametric trials.
• Specify fan curves.
• Use local coordinate systems.
• Generate summary report for multiple solutions.
4.2. Prerequisites
with the interface. If you are not, please review the sample session in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide and
Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) of this guide as some of the steps that were discussed in these
tutorials will not be repeated here.

The system level model consists of a series of IC chips on a PCB. A fan is used for forced convection cooling
of the power dissipating devices. Bonded fin extruded heat sink with 8 fins of thickness 0.008 m is attached
to the IC chips. Fan flow rate is defined by a nonlinear fan curve. The system also consists of a perforated
thin grille. A study is carried out for the optimum location of the fan by using the parameterization feature
in ANSYS Icepak.
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Figure 4.1 Schematic of the Geometry

1. Start ANSYS Icepak, as described in Section 1.5 of the User's Guide.
Note
3. Specify a name for your project (i.e., fan_locations) and click Create.
Note
display the cabinet in the graphics window. This cabinet will be modified in the next section.
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1. Resize the default cabinet.
The cabinet forms the boundary of your computational model. Press Shift-I for a 3D view. Select
Cabinet in the Model manager window and enter the location values as shown in the panel below.
The geometry editing panel can be found in the lower right hand corner of the GUI.
Extra
The previous tutorial showed you how to enter these values in the Cabinet panel.
2. Create the Fan.
Click on the Create fans icon ( ) in the object toolbar next to the model tree to create a 2D, intake
circular fan on one side of the cabinet. Change the default plane to plane YZ. Enter the location values
as shown in the geometry panel below:
• Defining a parameter for multiple trial.
One of the objectives of this exercise is to parameterize the location of the fan. To do this, click
Apply after entering in the fan location values. ANSYS Icepak will then ask you for an initial value
of “zc", enter an initial value of 0.1, and click Done.
Figure 4.2 The Param value Panel
We will now set the physical properties which will define the fan behavior:
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• Now edit the fan object and go to Properties tab.

• In the Properties tab, retain the selection of Intake for Fan type and select Non-linear in the Fan
flow group box.
• Enter the characteristic curve by clicking on the Edit button and selecting Text Editor in the drop-
down list next to Non-linear.
Figure 4.3 The Fans Panel (Properties Tab)
• First change the units of the volume flow rate and pressure according to the units in
Table 4.1: Values for the Curve Specification Panel (p. 82) and enter the values in pairs with a space
between them in the Curve specification panel.
Table 4.1 Values for the Curve Specification Panel

Volume Flow (CFM) Pressure (in_water)
0 0.42
20 0.28
40 0.2
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60 0.14
80 0.04
90 0.0
• Click Accept to close the form.

• Now, select the Edit button in the Properties tab panel and click on Graph Editor in the drop-
down list next to Non-linear to view the fan curve defined (Figure 4.4 (p. 83) ).
Figure 4.4 The Fan Curve Panel
• In the Properties tab, give the fan an RPM of 4000 in the Swirl group box, located near the upper-
right corner of the Properties window of the Fan object.
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• Enter 2000 for the Operating RPM value in the Options group box.
Note
The fan curve defined originally for RPM=4000 will be automatically scaled according
to the fan laws for the new operating RPM=2000. The swirl RPM(4000) can also be used
to compute the swirl factor.
• Click Update and Done to close the fan window.
Now the model looks as shown in Figure 4.5 (p. 84).
Figure 4.5 Model with Fan
Extra
The fan object has been shaded using shading under the Info tab.
3. Set up a Grille.
• Click on the Create grille icon ( ) for creating a new grille, set its plane to y-z. Then, using the
morph faces icon ( ) move the grille to the max-X face of the cabinet or resize the grille as
shown in the panel:
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• We will now define properties for the grill by clicking the Properties tab.
Note
This is a 50% open perforated thin grille.
– Under velocity loss coefficient, retain the default selection of Automatic.

– Specify a Free area ratio of 0.5.
– Retain Perforated thin vent for the Resistance type.
For more details on loss coefficient data, please refer to Handbook of Hydraulic Resistance, by Idelchick,
I. E.
The model looks as shown in Figure 4.6 (p. 85).
Figure 4.6 Model with Fan and Grill
4. Set up a wall.
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Note
The model includes a 0.01 m thick PCB that touches and covers the entire min-Y floor of
the cabinet. The PCB is exposed to the outside with a known heat flux of 20 W/m2. In order
to take in consideration the heat flux, we will use a wall object to simulate the PCB.
• Click on the Create walls icon ( ) to create a new wall. We will define the geometry and physical
parameters for the wall object:
– Make the plane xz.
– Use the morph faces icon ( ) from the model toolbar so that the wall object covers the
entire min-Y floor of the cabinet.
– Edit the Wall object and go to Properties tab. Give a Wall thickness of 0.01 m. Set the Solid
material to FR-4.
– Specify an Outside heat flux of 20 W/m2.
After creating the wall, the model looks as shown in Figure 4.7 (p. 86).
Figure 4.7 Model with Wall Added
5. Create blocks.
Note
In this step, we will create several types of blocks to represent different physics.
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• Creation of Solid Blocks
Now, we will create four blocks that dissipate 5 W each and have a contact resistance of 0.005
C/W on their bottom faces. Create a new block ( ) , and retain the type as Solid and geometry
as Prism. Size it as shown in the panel below:
• Edit the block and specify the following in the Properties tab:
– In the Surface specification group box, click on the Individual sides check box and click Edit
(Figure 4.8 (p. 88)).
→ For the MinY face, toggle on Thermal properties and Additional resistance.
→ Select Thermal resistance from pull down menu next to Additional resistance.
→ Ensure Fixed heat is enabled and set Total power to 5 W.
→ Set Thermal resistance to 0.005 C/W and click Accept.
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Figure 4.8 The Individual side specification
– In the Thermal specification group box, retain the selection of default for Solid Material (you
can also select Al-Extruded which is the default).
– Click Done to close the panel.
• Next, make three copies of this block with an X offset of 0.08 m.
Extra:
The previous tutorial showed you how to make a copy of an object.
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Figure 4.9 Creation of Solid Blocks
• Creation of Network blocks
Let us now create four IC chips in the form of network blocks. To create a network block, we will
create a Block object and change the block type to Network in the Properties tab. Each network
block will have junction-to-board, junction-to-case, and junction-to-sides thermal resistances. The
values of these resistances are known a priori.
Add a new block, and position it as shown in the panel below:
Edit the block to change the properties of this block;

– Ensure that the Block type is set to Network.
– Toggle on Star Network.
→ Enter the following parameters: Board side = Min Y, Rjc = 5 C/W, Rjc-sides = 5 C/W, Rjb = 5
C/W, and Junction power = 10 W.
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Figure 4.10 The Properties Panel
• Now make three copies of this network block with an X offset of 0.08 m. This finishes the creation
of the network blocks.
• Creation of a Hollow Block
Note
Finally, to cut out a section of the cabinet from the computational domain, we can create
a hollow block. This represents a region that does not affect heat transfer, but alters the
flow patterns.
– Create a new Block, make sure it is a hollow.
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In the Geometry tab, create a new Local coord system. Select Create new from the Local
coord system: drop-down list. Enter X offset = 0.1, Y offset = 0, Z offset = 0. Click Accept.
This is just to demonstrate the use of local coordinate system.
Further, size the block as follows:
6. Create Heatsink.
Note
Now we will create the detailed heat sink. The heat sink base acts as a heat spreader for all
the chips.
Click on the Create heat sinks icon ( ) and edit it, enter its location and properties as shown in the
following table:
Table 4.2 Heatsink Properties

Geometry
Plane: x-z, xS = 0.05, yS = 0.03, zS = 0.1, xE = 0.34, zE = 0.23
Base height: 0.01 m
Overall height: 0.06m
Properties
Type: Detailed
Flow Direction: X
Detailed Fin type: Bonded fin
Fin spec: by Count/thick
Fin Count: 8
Thickness: 0.008m
Fin material: default
Base material: Cu-Pure
Fin bonding: Edit button (lower-right corner)
Effective thickness: 0.0002m
Solid material: default
Click Update and Done. This completes the model building process. The complete model should look
like that shown in Figure 4.11 (p. 92).
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Figure 4.11 Final Model
4.6. Step 3: Creating separately meshed assemblies
Note
One of the key aspects of modeling is to use an adequate mesh for the model. We need to have
a fine mesh in the areas where temperature gradients are high or flow is turning. Having a too
coarse of a mesh will not give you accurate results and at the same time, too fine a mesh may
lead to longer run times. The best option is to explore the model carefully and look for opportun-
ities to reduce mesh counts in the areas where the gradients are not steep. Creating non-conformal
assemblies gives required accuracy along with reduced mesh count. Select set of objects to create
assemblies. Also decide suitable slack values for assembly bounding box. Your selection can be
reviewed in the section below where we will create non-conformal meshed assemblies.
We will now create two non-conformal meshed assemblies.
To create the first assembly, first highlight all the blocks (except the hollow block) and the heat sink object
in the model tree, then right-click on them and choose Create assembly. Then, right mouse click and select
Rename from the menu. Rename the assembly, as Heatsink-packages-asy. To build the “bounding box"
for the assembly called Heatsink-packages-asy, double-click on it to edit the assembly.
In the Meshing tab of the Assemblies panel, toggle on Mesh separately, and then set the Slack parameters
as the following:
Table 4.3 Slack Values for Heatsink-packages-asy Assembly

Min X 0.005 m Max X 0.015 m
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Min Y 0.005 m Max Y 0.005 m

Min Z 0.005 m Max Z 0.005 m
Note
To create a non-conformal mesh interface, it is necessary to use a positive slack value, unless the
bounding box touches the cabinet or a hollow block is used, in which case a zero slack value
would be acceptable.
Note
Note that for the Heatsink-packages-asy, we have set a bounding box that is 0.005 m bigger than
the assembly at five sides except Max X where the slack is defined higher (0.015 m) to capture
the wake region of the flow.
Click Update and Done to complete the bounding box specifications for the assembly.
Following the same procedure above, create one more assembly for the fan object (name it Fan-asy). Use
the following table to assign the Slack values for the Fan-asy assembly.
Table 4.4 Slack Values for Fan-asy Assembly

Min X 0m Max X 0.005 m
Min Y 0.002 m Max Y 0.002 m
Min Z 0.002 m Max Z 0.002 m

Now, open the Mesh control panel, keep the default values for the mesh settings and ensure that Mesh
assemblies separately is on. Then click Generate mesh. You may get a warning about minimum separation.
Click on Change value and mesh.
Extra:
This warning appears because the Minimum gap (separation) which is like a tolerance setting
for the mesher is larger than 10% of the smallest feature in the model. When there are objects
smaller than the mesher tolerance, those objects will not be meshed correctly. To avoid this we
use the change value and mesh option which modifies the minimum gap to 10% of the smallest
object. This option is used for this particular tutorial and may not be applicable all the time. As
separation setting is a useful tool designed to avoid unnecessary mesh due to inadvertent mis-
alignments in the model (without modifying the geometry), we may use other options suitable
to the model. Please refer to the Periodic Boundary Conditions: Determining Heat Sink Performance
Tutorial located on the FLUENT User Services Center web site for more details.
Examine the mesh by taking plane cuts; examine Face alignment and Quality ratio. Go to the Mesh control
panel, click on the Display and Quality tabs for examining the mesh.
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4.8. Step 5: Setting up the Multiple Trials
Note
Before we start solving the model, we will set up the parametric trials for the fan location para-
meter “zc".
• Go to the Solve menu and select Define trials.

– The Parameters and optimization panel pops up.
– Toggle on Parametric trials in the Setup tab.
– Select the Design variables tab and next to Discrete values, type 0.165 following 0.1, separated
by a space as shown in the Figure 4.12 (p. 94):
Figure 4.12 The Parameters and optimization
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4.9. Step 6: Creating monitor Points
– Click Apply.
Note
After the first trial has been completed, ANSYS Icepak has the options of starting the following
trial(s) from the default initial conditions specified in Problem setup panel, or from the
solution(s) of the trial run(s) that have completed.
For this model, next go to the Trials tab and ensure the Restart ID is blank for the 2nd trial. This instructs
ANSYS Icepak to start the 2nd run from the default initial conditions.
• Click on Reset button and select Values to use the base names for trial naming.
• Click Done to close the Parameters and optimization panel.
4.9. Step 6: Creating monitor Points

Create two monitor points by dragging and dropping (block.1 and grille.1) into the Points folder to mon-
itor the velocity in the grille and the temperature in one of the solid blocks. The variables to be monitored
can be easily changed by selecting them in the Monitor points panel.
Figure 4.13 The Modify point Panel
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4.10. Step 7: Physical and Numerical Setting

Set the overall problem definition to turn on the energy and turbulence using Zero equation model. Since
we are not solving for natural convection, there is no need to turn on the Gravity vector.
Figure 4.14 The Basic parameters Panel
Enter 200 in the Number of iterations field in the Basic settings panel.
Extra:
You can check Reynolds and Peclet numbers by clicking Reset button.
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Figure 4.15 The Basic settings Panel

ANSYS Icepak will save the model for you automatically before it starts the calculation, but it is a good idea
to save the model (including the mesh) yourself as well. If you exit ANSYS Icepak before you start the calcu-
lation, you will be able to open the job you saved and continue your analysis in a future ANSYS Icepak session.
(If you start the calculation in the current ANSYS Icepak session, ANSYS Icepak will simply overwrite your job
file when it saves the model.)
Alternatively, click the save button ( ) in the file commands toolbar.

Select the Solve menu and click on Run solution. In the Solve panel, toggle on Perform multiple trials
and Write overview of results when finished, and then click Start solution.
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Figure 4.16 The Solve Panel

Once the solutions are done, click on the Post menu and select Load solution ID. Select the solution that
corresponds to the first (parametric) run, i.e., zc = 0.1. Use the various postprocessing features available in
ANSYS Icepak to display your solution. In particular, use:
• Plane cut to display the velocity vectors on a plane through the cabinet
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Figure 4.17 Trial 1 Vector Plots at Constant Z Plane Cut
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Figure 4.18 Trial 2 Vector Plots at Constant Z Plane Cut
Important
To view the 2nd parametric run, click on the Post menu and select Load solution ID. Select
the solution that corresponds to the second parametric run, i.e., zc = 0.165. The graphics
display window will update automatically.
• Object face to display temperature contours on wall.1 and on all blocks
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Figure 4.19 Trial 1 Temperature Contours on Blocks and PCB (wall.1)
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Figure 4.20 Trial 2 Temperature Contours on Blocks and PCB (wall.1)
• Object face to display temperature contours on the faces of the PCB (wall.1) and on all blocks
• Surface probe to display the temperature values at a particular point
Examine the solution sets of both runs. You will find that, in the second run, the maximum temperature
is lower than in the first run and that the network blocks are the hottest objects inside the cabinet. The
second trial has the fan located at zC= 0.165 which is closer to the heat sink location. This increases the
flow velocity over the heat sinks and thus increases the convective heat transfer coefficient, which leads
to more heat transfer from the fins (blocks) and thus reduces the maximum temperature.
4.14. Step 11: Reports

1. Overview Report
At the end of the runs, ANSYS Icepak will automatically display an overview report since you toggled
on Write overview of results when finished in the Solve panel. This report will have:
• fan operating point
• volume flow rate through the grille
• heat flow from the chips
• network junction temperatures
• heat flows for the wall and the grille
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4.16. Step 13: Additional Exercise to Model Higher Altitude Effect
Examine these results. Simply go to the Report menu and then select Solution overview and click
on View to display the desired overview report.
2. Summary Report
You can also create a single summary report containing the results of all the trial runs completed. Go
to the Solve menu and select Define report. In the Define summary report panel, under Solution
ID, select Multiple. The default Filter, “ * ", picks all the available solution IDs. Create a summary report
on a few blocks and verify that the second trial gives lower temperatures.

In this tutorial, you learned how to set up and solve parametric trials, specify fan curves and create a new
local coordinate system. The use of network blocks to model packages has been demonstrated and how to
specify contact resistance using side specifications of a block object. A summary report is generated for
multiple solutions.
4.16. Step 13: Additional Exercise to Model Higher Altitude Effect

The final model can be also used to model the higher altitude affect. In order to model this correctly, new
air properties at, let's say, 3000 m need to be defined and assigned to the default fluid. The density of air is
the most affected property and gets lower as you go higher in altitude. The data for air properties at a dif-
ferent altitude is presented in many handbooks and may even include temperature change affect with it.
For 3000 m we can select the available library material Air@3000m. Please note that a custom material
having any properties can be created and stored in the material library to use in any project.
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Then, select Problem setup → Basic Parameters and assign the new air material to the default fluid.
In addition, in the Fan flow section of the Fans Properties tab, all the defined fan curves need to be mod-
ified by multiplying the existing data with the ratio of densities (the density of air at 3000 m / the density
of air at 0 m) which is smaller than 1. Finally, the model is ready to be run to account for the effects of
higher altitude.
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Cold-Plate Model with Non-Conformal Meshing
5.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to model a cold-plate using ANSYS Icepak.
• Use the priorities of different objects to model complex shapes in ANSYS Icepak.
• Use multiple fluids in a model.
5.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have reviewed the sample session in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide and Tutorials
Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) and Chapter 3, RF Amplifier (p. 43) of this guide.

The model consists of a cold-plate, where the cold-plate fluid is transporting a significant fraction of the
heat from two plates mounted on either side of it. The natural convection in the external air is also instru-
mental in some heat transfer. The model setup is shown in Figure 5.1 (p. 109).
The objective of this exercise is to illustrate the use of two different fluids in ANSYS Icepak. The model includes
two heated plates, cooled by water circulating inside the cold-plate cavity, as well as by air driven by natural
convection externally. Separately mesh assemblies will be employed to reduce the overall mesh count in
the domain. The model will be constructed using the default metric unit system.

Create a new project called cold-plate.

Construct the cabinet and all the other objects according to the following specifications. Note that during
the model building, you may use the alignment tools. Please remember that you can align the face, edge
and vertex of one object with another. For example, you could align the bottom face of the cylinders to the
cabinet (see Figure 5.1 (p. 109)). You may also use the align tools to create the openings on the cold-plate
inlet and outlet regions.
• Cabinet
Enter the following start and end locations for the cabinet
Table 5.1 Cabinet Start and End Values

xS 0.0 m xE 0.4 m
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yS 0.0 m yE 0.3 m
zS 0.0 m zE 0.2 m
• Blocks
Create a solid block, block.1, and a fluid, block.2 with the following specifications:
Table 5.2 block.1 and block.2 Specifications

block.1 xS 0.05 m xE 0.35 m
Geometry: Prism yS 0.08 m yE 0.22 m
Block type: Solid zS 0.07 m zE 0.13 m
Solid material: Al-Extruded
block.2 xS 0.06 m xE 0.34 m
Geometry: Prism yS 0.09 m yE 0.21 m
Block type: Fluid zS 0.08 m zE 0.12 m
Fluid material: Water (@280K)
Since block.2 is being created after block.1, it will have a higher relative meshing priority.
Note
An alternative way to select a Solid material for a block object is to set the Default solid
as Al-Extruded in the Default values tab of the Basic parameters panel. You can then leave
the material selection as default while creating the object instead of selecting the material
each time when an object is being created.
Next, we shall create some cylindrical blocks. While editing cylindrical blocks, you need to first select
the block shape as cylinder, then select the
Table 5.3 Cylindrical Block Specifications

Object xC yC zC Height Radius IRadius Specifications
block.3 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.09 0.015 0.0 Block type:
m m m m m m Solid
Geometry: Solid material:
Cylinder
Plane: X-Z Al-Extruded
block.4 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.09 0.015 0.0 Block type:
m m m m m m Solid
Geometry: Solid material:
Cylinder
Plane: X-Z Al-Extruded
block.5 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.09 0.01 0.0 Block type:
m m m m m m Fluid
106 Published: 2010-08-03

Geometry: Fluid material:
Cylinder
Plane: X-Z Water(@280K)
block.6 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.09 0.01 0.0 Block type:
m m m m m m Fluid
Geometry: Fluid Material:
Cylinder
Plane: X-Z Water(@280K)
Please note that the fluid blocks, block.5 and block.6 are created after the solid blocks and they will
have higher relative meshing priorities.
Note
An alternative way to build the cylinders would be to create the solid block, block.3, and
then the fluid block, block.5, group these together, and then copy them with an offset of
0.2 in the x direction. Note that the naming of the cylinders will not be consistent with the
tutorial.
• Plates
Table 5.4 Plate Specifications

Object Specifications
plate.1 xS 0.07 m xE 0.33 m Solid material:
Geometry: Rectangular yS 0.1 m yE 0.2 m Al-Extruded
Plane: X-Y zS 0.06 m zE — Power: 200W
Thermal model: Conducting thick: 0.01 m
plate.2 xS 0.07 m xE 0.33 m Solid material:
Geometry: Rectangular yS 0.1 m yE 0.2 m Al-Extruded
Plane: X-Y zS 0.13 m zE — Power: 200W
Thermal model: Conducting thick: 0.01 m
Note
Note: An alternative way to create plate.2 would be to copy plate.1 with Z-offset = 0.07m.
• Openings
Openings at the liquid inflow and outflow regions of the cold-plate are
Table 5.5 Opening Specifications

Object xC yC zC Radius Specifications
opening.1 (outlet opening) 0.1m 0m 0.1m 0.01m
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Type: Free
Geometry: Circular
Plane: X-Z
opening.2 (inlet opening) 0.3m 0m 0.1m 0.01m Y velocity =
Type: Free 0.2 m/s
Geometry: Circular
Plane: X-Z
Note
You could also have made a copy of outlet opening (opening.1) with X offset = 0.2 to create
inlet opening (opening.2).
Openings at the cabinet boundary for external air natural convection are
Table 5.6 Openings at Cabinet Boundary Specifications

Object
opening.3 xS 0.4 m xE —
Type: Free yS 0.0 m yE 0.3 m
Geometry: Rectangular zS 0.2 m zE 0.0 m
Plane:Y-Z
opening.4 xS 0.0 m xE —
Type: Free yS 0.0 m yE 0.3 m
Geometry: Rectangular zS 0.2 m zE 0.0 m
Plane:Y-Z
Note
Note: Instead of creating the openings, opening.3 and opening.4 above, you could have
also edited the cabinet and change the wall type on these two faces to openings.
The final model should appear similar to the drawing shown in Figure 5.1 (p. 109).
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5.6. Step 3: Create a separate mesh assembly
Figure 5.1 The cold-plate Model
5.6. Step 3: Create a separate mesh assembly

To create a separate meshed assembly, highlight all the objects in the model tree other than the cabinet,
opening.3, and opening.4. Right mouse click on them and choose Create assembly. To enable separate
meshing for the assembly, double-click on assembly.1 to edit the assembly. Under the Meshing tab, toggle
on the Mesh separately button and then enter the slack values as follows:
Table 5.7 Slack Values for Mesh Assembly

Min X 0.01 m Max X 0.01 m
Min Y 0.0 m Max Y 0.01 m
Min Z 0.01 m Max Z 0.01 m
The bounding box of the assembly is larger than the original assembly by 0.01 m on five sides. The slack
value for the min Y side of the assembly is set to be 0 m, since the min Y side of the assembly is at the
bottom surface of the cabinet. Click Update and Done to complete editing the separately mesh assembly.
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Open the Mesh control panel, make sure that Mesh assemblies separately button is toggled on and
Normal mesh is selected for Mesh parameters. Change the Max size ratio to 4 and keep the other global
default mesh settings. The mesh will need to be refined for the inner prismatic fluid block (block.2). Toggle
Object params in the Mesh control panel and click Edit.... Choose block.2 and check Use per-object
parameters and enter 30, 16, and 10 respectively for the X, Y and Z counts for the mesh in the fluid block,
as shown in the figure below. Click Done to close the Per-object meshing parameters panel.
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Click Accept “change value" checks in the Mesh control panel and click on Generate mesh to mesh the
model. Visualize the mesh at plane cuts and surface displays.

A calculation of the Reynolds number shows that the problem is turbulent. To set up turbulent flow, expand
the Problem setup tree (top of the model tree), select Basic parameters and choose the Zero equation
turbulence model for the Flow regime in the General setup tab.
Gravity acts in the negative x direction in this problem. To setup the effects of gravity, toggle on the Gravity
vector in the General setup tab. Enter the new values for the gravity vector as x = -9.80665, y = 0 and z =
0. Now go to the Transient setup tab and set an initial velocity X velocity = 0.005 m/s in the x direction.
Accept all other defaults in the Basic parameters panel. These are shown in Figure 5.2 (p. 112).
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Figure 5.2 Switching on Gravity and Turbulent Flow
Note
For steady state natural convection cases, setting a small initial velocity opposite to the gravity
vector direction is advised as this assists with the initial convergence of the model. For cases
where there is no forced convection, clicking on Reset in the Solution settings → Basic settings
menu will automatically set a small initial velocity in the direction opposite to the gravity vector.
This may not be necessary in this model though, since the flow will be forced through the cold
plate. We will have mixed convection (forced + natural) heat transfer mode.
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Figure 5.3 Basic and Advanced Solver Settings
Select the Basic settings panel from the Solution settings branch of the tree and set the Number of iter-
ations to 300. Go to Advanced settings and specify Under-relaxation factors for Pressure, Momentum,
and Temperature as 0.3, 0.7, and 1.0, respectively. Select Double for the Precision drop-down list. The re-
commended basic settings and advanced solver setup for this model is shown in Figure 5.3 (p. 113).
Add three monitor points to the Points folder, one to monitor the velocity at the center of the opening.1
(outlet opening), and two to monitor the temperature at the center of block.2 and plate.2, respectively.
The easiest way to create them is to select the objects from the Model tree and then drag them to the
Points folder of the tree. ANSYS Icepak will then automatically monitor values at the centers of these objects.
The default settings is to monitor Temperature. To change this, double click on the object under the Points
folder, and choose which variables to monitor at that location.

to save the model after the model building and meshing is complete.
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Alternatively, click the save button ( ) in the file commands toolbar.

Select the Solve menu and click on Run solution. In the Solve panel, under the Options tab toggle on
Write overview of results when finished, and then click Start solution.

Please review the solution overview report created to ensure that mass (volume) flow rate and energy balances
are satisfied. To postprocess the results, create the following object face and plane cut objects:
Table 5.8 Object Face and Plane Cut Specifications

Object Specifications/Display Attributes Description
face.1 Object: all blocks (pick each block Object-face view of
using the Ctrl key and left temperature on all the
mouse button) blocks.
Show contours/ Parameters What is the maximum
Contours of: Temperature temperature?
Contours options: Solid fill and Smooth
Color levels: Calculated/ Global limits
cut.1 Set position: Z plane through center Observation:
Show vectors: Parameters Water is circulating
Color by: Velocity Magnitude through the internal
Color levels: Calculated/ Global limits channel, providing most
of the cooling for the model.
On the outside, air flows
over the system by
natural convection.
face.2 Object: opening Observe the flow pattern
Object name: opening.2 (inlet) from inlet opening to
Show particle traces/ Parameters outlet opening passing
Variable: Speed through the cold plate.
Display options: Uniform: 30 Animate the particle
Particle options: Keep all the defaults traces.
Style: Dye trace (Width = 1) and
Particles (Radius = 2)
Color levels: Calculated/ This Object
cut.2 Set position: X plane through center Observe the flow pattern
Show particle traces/ Parameters in (+) X direction.
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Variable: Speed Animate the particle

Display options: Uniform: 30 traces.
Particle options: Keep all the defaults
Style: Dye trace (Width = 1) and
Particles (Radius = 2)
Color levels: Calculated/ This Object
cut.3 Set position: Y plane through center Due to the nature of the
Show contours of Temperature. problem, the temperature
distribution should be
symmetric around the
central xy plane. Please
verify this in the solution.
You can save the postprocessing objects that you just created by clicking Save post objects to file option
in the Post menu. ANSYS Icepak will save these objects under the file named post_objects. If you do not
save them at this stage, they will not be automatically saved for future retrieval when you end the current
ANSYS Icepak session.

In this problem, we modeled a cold-plate that included two heat plates cooled by water circulating inside
the cold-plate cavity as well as air driven by natural convection externally. This exercise also demonstrated
how to use the priorities of different objects to model complex shapes in ANSYS Icepak and the use of
multiple fluids in a model.

To see the cooling capacity (effectiveness) of water, you may run the same model by replacing the fluid
properties (of the fluid blocks) by Air, i.e., make all the fluid blocks air blocks. You should see a significant
increase in the maximum temperature.
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116 Published: 2010-08-03
Heat-Pipe Modeling and Nested Non-Conformal Meshing
6.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to model simple heat pipes and an active heat sink using ANSYS Icepak.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to:
• Create orthotropic solid materials.

• Use those materials to simulate a heat-pipe in a system.
• Use the copy mirror and translate copy functions.
• Create nested non-conformal assemblies.
6.2. Prerequisites
Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) of this guide. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure
will not be shown explicitly.

Heat pipes are used to transport heat from a heat source area (where there is limited space for heat dissip-
ation) to a place where it is dissipated. The objective of this exercise is not to model the detailed physics
inside a heat pipe. Instead, we will model a heat pipe by using a series of cylindrical solid blocks that connect
the heat source to an air-cooled heat sink. These blocks will have an orthotropic conductivity with very large
conductivity in the pipe axis direction where the heat is carried away. The model will be constructed using
the default metric unit system. We will also make use of nested non-conformal meshing using assemblies
to reduce the cell count in the model.
Published: 2010-08-03 117
Figure 6.1 Heat-pipe Tutorial Base Model

1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/heat-pipe/heat-pipe-nested-NC.tzr to your working directory.

You must replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS Icepak is installed
on your computer system.
3. Click Unpack in the New/existing panel.
4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file heat-pipe-nested-NC.tzr and click
Open.
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5. In the Location for the unpacked project file selection dialog, select a directory where you would
like to place the packed project file, enter a project name in the New project text field then click Un-
pack.
Note
In ANSYS Icepak, the packed file feature compresses a model to the files needed to build, mesh
and run the model (job, model and problem files). In many of the tutorials, part of the model is
already created and packed to speed up the learning process. The model originally has three
blocks and only block.1 has an assigned power (25 W). The model also has one fan and one grille.
Next, we will build a heat sink in the area of the fan, grille and the heat pipe system to connect
block.1 to the heat sink.
1. Create materials utilizing ANSYS Icepak's orthotropic material conductivity feature. The idea is to have
a material that has very high conductivity in the pipe heat removal directions but normal conductivity
in the other directions.
• Click on the material icon ( ) in the object toolbar for each new material to be created.
• Click on the material name with the right mouse button and select Edit or double click the mater-
ial name to open the Edit panel.
• Go to the Properties tab and make sure to toggle on Material type to be Solid and Conductivity
type to be Orthotropic.
• Deselect the Edit check box next to conductivity and create the following materials with ortho-
tropic conductivity properties using the template in Figure 6.2 (p. 120).
Published: 2010-08-03 119
Figure 6.2 Orthotropic Material Properties
Table 6.1 Orthotropic Properties

Name Nominal Conductivity Orthotropic multiplier
material.1 20000 X=1 Y = 0.005 Z = 0.005
material.2 20000 X = 0.005 Y=1 Z = 0.005
material.3 20000 X=1 Y=1 Z = 0.005
The above materials have the so-called orthotropic conductivity, which is not uniform in all three
directions. The effective conductivity in each direction is equal to the Nominal conductivity multiplied
by the orthotropic multiplier in that direction.
2. After creating these heat pipe materials, we build the heat pipe made of cylindrical blocks and square
joints.
• Create five block objects.
• Use the values in the following table (be sure to note the geometry)
Table 6.2 Block Specifications

pipe1 0.05 0.11 0.1 0.245 0.01 0.0 Geometry: Cylinder,
Plane: Y-Z
m m m m m m Type: Solid
120 Published: 2010-08-03

Solid material: mater-
ial.1
Plane Y-Z
ial.1
Plane: X-Z
ial.2
Object xS yS zS xE yE zE Specifications
Joint1 0.295 0.095 0.085 0.325 0.125 0.115 Geometry: Prism
ial.3
Joint2 0.295 0.35 0.085 0.325 0.38 0.115 Geometry: Prism
ial.3
Note
Note that one can use the Copy object function to speed up the creation of the remain-
ing objects after pipe1 and joint1 are created.
3. Next, we will also build the heat sink using block objects.
• Build the base and one pin according to the following
Table 6.3 Base and Pin Specifications

Object xS yS zS xE yE zE Specifications
Base 0.42 0.35 0.05 0.592 0.38 0.15 Geometry: Prism
m m m m m m Type: Solid, Solid material: de-
fault
Object xC yC zC Height Radius Radius2 Specifications
Pin 0.44 0.38 0.067 0.04 0.01 0.006 Geometry: Cylinder, Plane: X-Z
m m m m m m Non-uniform radius :
Intradius = Intradius2 = 0
Type: Solid, Solid material: de-
fault
Published: 2010-08-03 121
Note that the non-uniform radius option is in the Geometry tab as shown below and be sure to
specify the correct plane (Figure 6.3 (p. 122)).
Figure 6.3 Non-uniform Cylinder
• Make two copies of Pin with an offset of 0.033 m in the Z direction (i.e., Number of copies= 2,
Translate with Z offset = 0.033 m).
• Highlight the three tapered fins (Pin, Pin.1 and Pin.2), make four copies of this highlighted group
with an offset of 0.033 m in the X direction (i.e., Number of copies = 4, Translate with X offset
= 0.033 m).
• Group all the pins by highlighting them in the model tree, click on the right mouse and select
Copy object and finally make one copy as follows: Number of copies = 1, Translate with Y offset
= -0.03, Mirror with Plane: XZ and About: Low end.
The final model should appear as shown in Figure 6.4 (p. 123).
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6.6. Step 3: Create Nested Non-conformal Mesh Using Assemblies
Figure 6.4 Model with Heat Pipe and Heat Sink
6.6. Step 3: Create Nested Non-conformal Mesh Using Assemblies

In this exercise, our goal is to reduce the overall cell count to a reasonable level while retaining a good cell
resolution within the model, especially where the velocity and temperature gradients are higher.
1. Create three individual assemblies (one for the heat sink and the base, the second one for the vent,
and the last one for the fan).
a. Highlight all the pins and the base in the model tree.
b. Right mouse click and choose Create assembly.
c. Rename the assembly Heatsink-asy.
d. Double click on the assembly to open the Edit panel.
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e. Under the Meshing tab, toggle on the Mesh separately button.

f. Set the slack to the following values:
Table 6.4 Slack Values for Heatsink-asy

Min X 0.005 m Max X 0.005 m
Min Y 0.005 m Max Y 0.005 m
Min Z 0.015 m Max Z 0.005 m
Note
Note that for the Heatsink-asy, we have set a bounding box that is 0.005 m bigger
than the assembly at five sides except Min Z where the slack is defined higher (0.015m)
to capture the wake region of the flow.
g. Click Update and Done.

h. Following the same procedure above, create two more assemblies; one for vent.1 (name it Vent-
asy) and one for the fan (name it Fan-asy).
i. Use the following tables to assign slack values for Vent-asy and Fan-asy assemblies, respectively.
Table 6.5 Slack Values for Vent-asy

Min Z 0.01 m Max Z 0m
Table 6.6 Slack Values for Fan-asy

Min Z 0m Max Z 0.01 m
2. Put the previously created assemblies into an outer assembly covering all.
a. Highlight all the three assemblies above and click the right mouse button.
b. Select Create assembly.
c. Rename this main assembly HS-vent-fan-asy.
d. Assign the following slack values to the assembly.
Table 6.7 Slack Values for HS-vent-fan-asy

Min Z 0m Max Z 0m
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1. Go to Model → Generate Mesh or use the toolbar shortcut ( ) to open the Mesh control panel.
2. In the Mesh control panel, specify a global maximum element size of 0.025 m in all three directions
(Max X size= Max Y size = Max Z size = 0.025).
3. Set the Init height to 0.003.
4. Verify that the Coarse option is selected next to Mesh parameters and change the Max size ratio
from 10 to 5.
5. Make sure that Mesh assemblies separately button is toggled on.
6. Generate and visualize the mesh by making plane cuts and surface displays, especially between the
heat sink pins and on the surface of the fan and grille objects. The meshing panel should look like the
one in Figure 6.5 (p. 125) when finished:
Figure 6.5 Mesh control Panel
Published: 2010-08-03 125

1. Go to Problem Setup → Basic parameters. In the General setup tab menu, and change the Flow
regime to be Turbulent.
2. Go to the Transient setup tab and set the initial condition for the velocity in the z-direction to be -
0.1 m/s to achieve faster convergence (If there is an initial guess at the start of the solution there is a
lesser chance of large initial velocities in the first iteration).
These two steps are shown in Figure 6.6 (p. 126). Click Accept for these changes to take effect.
Figure 6.6 Turbulent Flow and Initial Z-Velocity
3. Under Solution settings, select Basic settings and set the Number of iterations to 200 (Figure
6.7 (p. 126)).
Figure 6.7 Basic settings Panel
4. Click Accept.
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Note
a good idea to save the model (including the mesh) yourself as well.

1. Add in two monitor points, one to monitor velocity at the center of vent.1, and one to monitor the
temperature at the center of the block.1.
a. Select vent.1 and block.1 from the list and then drag them to the Points branch of the tree.
(Alternatively, one can create monitor points by simply selecting these objects in the model tree,
clicking on the right mouse button and selecting the Create monitor point option.)
b. Because ANSYS Icepak will by default monitor the temperature at the centroid or center of these
objects, double click on vent.1 under the monitor Points branch.
c. Select velocity as the variable to monitor and deselect temperature.
d. Accept the change.
2. Go to Solve → Run solution or click on the shortcut button( ). In the Options tab, start the solver
by clicking Start solution.

To postprocess results for this exercise, create the following object-face and plane-cut views:

Object Specifications Description
face.1 Object: all blocks Object-face view of temperature on all
(Choose using Ctrl and Shift the blocks.
keys and left mouse button) Observations:
Show contours The view shows the flow of heat from
Parameters the heated block (block1.) to the
Contours of: Temperature air-cooled heat sink.
Contours options: Solid fill/ Smooth
cut.1 Plane location: Plane cut (x-z) view of the velocity vectors
Set position: Y plane through center through the center of the fan.
Scroll up to about 0.8 Observations:
Show vectors The view shows air flowing from the grill
Parameters to the fan, passing through the fins of
Color by: Velocity magnitude the heat sink.
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face.1 and cut.1 should look similar to Figure 6.8 (p. 128) and Figure 6.9 (p. 129) that follow.
Figure 6.8 face.1 (Temperature Contour -all blocks)
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Figure 6.9 cut.1 (Velocity Vectors through Fan)

In this problem, we have modeled a simplified heat pipe using cylindrical solid blocks of orthotropic con-
ductivity. The exercise also demonstrated the application of copy and mirror features as well as the use of
nested non-conformal meshing using assemblies in ANSYS Icepak.
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Non-Conformal Mesh
7.1. Introduction
This tutorial compares the effects of using a conformal mesh versus a non-conformal mesh in a simple pin-
fin heat sink problem.
• Generate a non-conformal mesh and related parameters such as bounding box, slacks etc.
• Understand the effects of non-conformal mesh on total mesh counts and on results
• Generate and compare summary reports.
• Apply non-conformal rules and restrictions
7.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with the menu structure in ANSYS Icepak and that you have solved
the sample session and Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3). Some steps in the setup and solution
procedure will not be shown explicitly.

The model consists of a pin-fin heat sink composed of aluminum, which is in contact with a source dissipating
10 W, as shown in Figure 7.1 (p. 132). The source-heatsink assembly sits in the middle of a wind tunnel with
a wind speed of 1.0 m/s. The ambient temperature is 20°C. The flow regime is turbulent.
The objective of this exercise is to become familiar with the non-conformal meshing methodology and its
application. The solution results of conformal and non-conformal mesh will be examined and compared.
In ANSYS Icepak, assemblies of objects can be meshed separately. A region can be defined around a partic-
ular assembly and this region can be meshed independently of the mesh outside this region. This allows a
fine mesh to be confined in a particular region of interest and it helps to reduce overall mesh count without
sacrificing the accuracy of the results.
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Non-Conformal Mesh

Open a new project and name it non-conformal.

• Cabinet
Enter the following start and end locations for the Cabinet.
xS 0.3 m xE 0.7 m
yS 0.5 m yE 0.7 m
zS 0.0 m zE 1.0 m
– Opening on Cabinet Boundaries
Open the Cabinet object panel. In the Properties tab, change Wall type of Min z to Opening. Click
Edit to open the Openings panel and enter 1 m/s for Z velocity and keep Temperature as ambient
(which is 20°C).
– Grille on Cabinet Boundaries
Under the Cabinet Properties tab, change the wall type of Max z to Grille. Click Edit to open the
Grille panel. Change the free area ratio to 0.8 and leave the other default property specifications.
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Figure 7.2 Grille Properties Specifications
• Source
Create a source using the following dimensions:
Object Specification
source.1 xS = 0.48m xE = 0.52m Total heat = 30
Geometry: Rectangular yS = 0.52m yE = — Watts
Plane: X-Z zS = 0.48m zE = 0.52m
• Heat sink
Now, create a heat sink with the following geometrical and physical properties.
Geometry Settings
Plane: X-Z
Start/end
Base height: 0.02m
Overall height: 0.1m
xS = 0.46m, xE = 0.54m
yS = 0.50m, yE = —
zS = 0.40m, zE = 0.6m
Properties Type: Detailed
Flow direction: Z
Detailed fin type: Cross cut extrusion
Fin geometry/ Fin spec: Count/thick
Count: 8 in Z and 8 in X
Thickness: 0.01 m in Z and 0.004 m in X
default base and pin material
The screen shots of the heatsink panel is shown in Figure 7.3 (p. 134).
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Non-Conformal Mesh
Figure 7.3 Heat sink Properties
7.6. Step 3: Generate a Conformal Mesh

Generate a conformal mesh for the model.
1. Open the Mesh control panel using Model → Generate mesh.

a. In the Mesh control panel, set the Max X size to 0.02 m, the Max Y size to 0.01 m, and the
Max Z size to 0.05 m.
b. Under Global settings, make sure that Normal mesh is selected next to Mesh parameters.
c. Check on Accept “change value" checks option and click Generate mesh.
Note
The minimum gap for X, Y, Z might adjust to 10% of the minimum dimension in re-
spective directions. Make a note of the number of elements, the minimum face align-
ment and the aspect ratio.
2. Examine the mesh.

c. In the Set position drop-down list, select Y plane through center.
Note
The mesh display plane is an x-z plane cut through the center of the cabinet as shown in
Figure 7.4 (p. 135). Note the clustered mesh lines extending from the heat sink all the way
across the domain in both the x and z directions. The total number of cells is about 84000.
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Figure 7.4 Conformal Mesh, Central Y Plane

a. Deselect the Display mesh option.
b. Click Close to close the Mesh control panel.

Before starting the solver, you will first review estimates of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers to check that
the proper flow regime is being modeled.
Check the values of the Reynolds and Peclet numbers.
Click Reset in the Basic settings panel. Check the values printed to the Message window. The Reynolds
and Peclet numbers are approximately 12600 and 8900, respectively, so the flow is turbulent.
To set up turbulent flow, expand the Problem setup tree (top of the Model tree), select Basic parameters
and choose the Zero equation turbulence model under the General setup tab. Click Accept to accept the
new solver settings.
Select the Basic settings panel in the Solution settings branch of the tree and set the Number of iterations
to 300. Go to Advanced settings and specify Under-relaxation factors for Pressure, Momentum, and
Temperature as 0.7, 0.3, and 1.0 respectively.
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Non-Conformal Mesh
Define a monitor point by dragging the source object (source.1) into the Points folder. This will create a
monitor point for temperature of the object, which can be used to judge convergence.

to save the model (including the mesh) before the solution. The model can be saved using File → Save
project.

Start the calculation by clicking on Solve → Run solution. Specify “conformal" as the Solution ID. Click
Start solution to start the solver.

In this step, you will examine the maximum temperature using ANSYS Icepak's summary reporting tool.
Report → Summary report
1. Define a report that will display temperature data for the source and the heat sink.
a. In the Define summary report panel, click New.
b. In the Objects drop-down list, select heatsink.1 and click Accept.
c. In the Value drop-down list, select Temperature.
d. Repeat steps (a) through (c) for source.1.
e. Click Write to generate a summary report.
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7.11. Step 8: Add an Assembly to the Model
ANSYS Icepak will open the Report summary data panel, where minimum, maximum, and mean
temperatures for the heat sink and source are displayed. Note that the maximum temperature is about
36.8° C.
2. Click Done to close the Report summary data panel.

3. Click Close to close the Define summary report panel.
7.11. Step 8: Add an Assembly to the Model

You will now create an assembly out of the source and heat sink objects. The assembly will be meshed
separately from the rest of the model.
Note
Because you are changing the current model, thereby invalidating the post processing data that
has been loaded from the previous steps, you will need to generate a mesh (a non-conformal
mesh) and calculate the solution again which is shown in steps 9 through 11.
1. Create an assembly consisting of the source and the heat sink objects.
a. Click the Create assemblies button ( ) to create a new assembly. This will create an assembly
node in the Model manager window under the Model node.
b. Select the source.1 item under the Model node in the Model manager window, hold down the
Ctrl key, and then select the heatsink.1 item.
c. Hold down the left mouse button, drag both highlighted items into the assembly.1 node of the
tree, then release the left mouse button.
2. Edit the assembly and define its bounding box.
a. Select the assembly.1 node in the Model manager window, and then double click the Edit object
button ( ) to open the Assemblies panel.
b. Click the Meshing tab.
c. Turn on the Mesh separately option and enter the following Slack parameters shown in Figure
7.5 (p. 138).
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Non-Conformal Mesh
Figure 7.5 Slack Values and Mesh Controls in the Separately Mesh Assembly
This will create a bounding box region that is 0.05 m larger than the assembly on four sides. Since
Min Y is already at the bottom of the cabinet, no slack value can be provided for it. A larger slack
value of 0.15 m has been provided in the Max Z direction to resolve the wake region. Smaller
Max X and Max Z grid size has been specified within the assembly as compared to the global
max grid size. This helps to refine the mesh within the separately meshed assembly.
d. Click Done to set the properties of the assembly and close the panel.
The new model is shown in Figure 7.6 (p. 139).
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7.12. Step 9: Generate a Non-conformal Mesh
Figure 7.6 The Source and Heat Sink in a Separately Meshed Assembly
7.12. Step 9: Generate a Non-conformal Mesh

assembly.1 will be meshed separately when the mesh is generated. The non-conformal mesh will limit the
clustering to a region inside a bounding box slightly larger than the source-heatsink assembly.
1. Generate a non-conformal mesh for the model.

a. In the Mesh control panel, keep the Max X size set to 0.02 m, the Max Y size set to 0.01 m,
and the Max Z size set to 0.05 m.
b. Under Global settings, turn on the Mesh assemblies separately option.
c. Click Generate mesh.
Note
Make a note of the number of elements, the minimum face alignment, and the aspect
ratio.

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Non-Conformal Mesh

The mesh display plane is an - plane cut through the center of the cabinet as shown in Figure
7.7 (p. 140). Note the clustered mesh lines extending from the heat sink all the way across the

domain in both the and directions only within the bounds of the assembly. The total number
of cells is about 68000, about 0.8 times the mesh count of the conformal mesh.
Figure 7.7 Non-conformal Mesh


to save the model (including the mesh) yourself as well.

1. Retain the same Number of iterations (300) in the Basic settings panel.
2. Start the Solution.
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a. Specify non-conformal as the Solution ID.
b. Click Start solution to start the solver.
Note
The monitor point that you already created will automatically be used for the new solution.
The solution will converge after about 150 iterations. Note, however, that the exact number
of iterations required for convergence may vary on different computers.

In this step, you will examine the maximum and minimum temperatures of the source and heat sink in the
new version of the model.
Report → Summary report
1. Define a report that will display temperature data for the assembly.
a. Retain the same temperature report of the source and the heat sink, as used in the version without
the assembly.
b. Click Write to generate a summary report.
Note that the maximum temperature is about 36.63° C, representing a temperature rise of about
16.63° C from the ambient temperature of 20° C. The maximum temperature is very close to that
obtained in the version with conformal mesh.
2. Click Done to close the Report summary data panel.
3. Click Close to close the Define summary report panel.

In this tutorial, you generated both a conformal and a non-conformal mesh for a simple source-heatsink
geometry and compared the two sets of results. The comparison found an approximate 20 percent reduction
in the number of cells for the non-conformal mesh with a negligible change in the temperature data.
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142 Published: 2010-08-03
Mesh and Model Enhancement Exercise
8.1. Objective
The objective of this exercise is to lead you through the decision making process that's involved in improving
a model. The inferences from the exercise should help you make appropriate modeling choices during your
next thermal modeling project.
8.2. Prerequisites
The trainee should be familiar with:
• ANSYS Icepak modeling objects

• Basics of meshing
• Non-conformal meshing
8.3. Skills Covered

• Choice of thin vs. thick objects
• Basic meshing techniques
• Use of object separation setting
8.4. Training Method Used

A troubleshooting approach is used in this tutorial. A model with potential for improvement is provided.
You will be given 15 minutes to try your hand at improving the model (note: you are not expected to
complete all the improvements in this short time). This will help you familiarize yourself with the issues as-
sociated with the model. Then, an approach for improving the model is delineated in the form of step-by-
step hints. Feel free to explore the software interface, collaborate with another trainee, or ask the instructor.
8.5. Loading the Model

• Unpack and load the model named “meshing-tutorial-start.tzr"
• Rename it to any other name of your choice
8.6. A 15 Minute Exploration

Without making any changes, the model results in about 500,000 cells. It is possible to reduce this mesh
count to less than 250,000 without compromising accuracy. You are allowed to modify, delete, or add objects
as long as the physics being modeled stays unchanged. You may want to refer to the power and material
specifications to justify model changes. Non-conformal meshing is one of the techniques that will help you
accomplish this task.
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Work with this model for as long as you prefer within the allocated 15 minutes and STOP. Proceed to the
next set of instructions.
Note
Hint: Start by generating the mesh without any changes. View mesh cut planes at various orient-
ations and locations to identify root causes that result in unnecessary mesh clusters in non-critical
regions. Then modify the model in order to tackle the issues you notice.
8.7. Step-by-Step Approach

• Save the model you have been working on to another name. (You may be revisiting this model to
compare notes with the suggested approach)
• Reload the model you had unpacked earlier (“meshing-tutorial-start").
• Save it to another name of your choice.
• Generate mesh without modifying the model. You will see an object separation related warning message
in the message window or in a dialog box. This is an important message. However, we shall revisit this
later. For now, accept the suggested separation setting. You will see a mesh count of about 500,000
cells.
• Create mesh cut planes in different orientation to identify the root cause for such a high mesh count.
One such cut plane is shown in Figure 8.1 (p. 145).
• Figure 8.1 (p. 145) shows that the high mesh count is due to grid bleeding from the heat sink and the
components cooled by it.
Note
What feature in ANSYS Icepak allows you to avoid grid bleeding?
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8.8. Modification 1: Non-Conformal Mesh of the Heat Sink and Components
Figure 8.1 A Mesh Cut Plane View of the Given Model When Meshed Without Modifications
8.8. Modification 1: Non-Conformal Mesh of the Heat Sink and Compon-

ents
• Create an assembly containing the heat sink and the components cooled by it (green colored objects).
– Hint: Shift + left mouse click and draw a window around the group of objects you would like to as-
semble.
– Hint: You can make some objects invisible to select the heat sink objects.
• Activate “ Mesh separately " for this assembly and specify appropriate slack values. While specifying
slack values, make sure that you are not violating any of the rules regarding non-conformal meshing.
• Generate the mesh again.
• You may see a warning in a pop-up dialog box or in the message window about a thin plate intersecting
the non-conformal interface. Note that this warning informs about the specific object that violates the
rule (Figure 8.2 (p. 146)).
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Figure 8.2 Thin Conducting Plate Intersecting the Non-Conformal Boundary
• Click OK and wait for the meshing to complete.

• Observe the decrease in element count with every modification you make.
8.9. Modification 2: Resolution of Thin Conducting Plate Intersecting

Non-Conformal Region
• Question the choice of thin conducting plate object type for the plate object featured in the warning
(Mask.1).
– What is the thickness of the mask plate?
– What is the conductivity of the solid material assigned to this plate?
– Find out the thickness and conductivity of the PCB on which the thin plate is lying.
– Based on the above information, do you think that the mask object is a significant spreader of heat
compared to the PCB?
→ The mask is not a significant heat spreader, however it tends to impede heat flow across it.
Hence, we cannot completely ignore it.
→ In fact, there are two mask plates modeled as thin conducting plates in this model (one for each
PCB).
→ Change the plate type of both mask plates to “ Contact Resistance ". This way you maintain
the thermal resistance in the normal direction while ignoring the heat spreading laterally.
• Regenerate the mesh or load the existing one (mesh is still the same as there is no change in geometry).
• View cut planes of the mesh to see if you have any more unnecessary mesh clusters. Figure 8.3 (p. 147)
shows one such cut plane.
– This time the unwanted grids are from the clusters of components called “hi-flux-comp" (red colored
objects).
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8.10. Modification 3: Non-Conformal Mesh for the “ hi-flux-comps Cluster
Figure 8.3 Mesh Bleeding After 1 Non-Conformal Region
8.10. Modification 3: Non-Conformal Mesh for the “ hi-flux-comps

Cluster
• Create a non-conformal mesh around the cluster of components called “ hi-flux-comps ".
– Even though you are only interested in isolating the “ hi-flux-comps", there are 2 cylindrical
objects very close to it. Non-conformal interface is not allowed to intersect cylinders. You have 2
choices:
→ Avoid the cylinders by selecting a small slack value. This may be too small and create a small
gap between the interface and the cylinders - not desirable.
→ Include the cylinders to the assembly. This is the suggested approach.
• Repeat cut plane viewing.
• Figure 8.4 (p. 148) shows a cut plane view after creating the 2 separately mesh regions.
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Figure 8.4 Mesh Bleeding From the Boards
8.11. Modification 4: A Super Assembly...

• The mesh bleeding you see in Figure 8.4 (p. 148) can be tackled by creating a separately mesh assembly
of the entire enclosure object (the blue box).
• The resultant mesh cut plane is shown in Figure 8.5 (p. 148).
Figure 8.5 Cut Plane View of Recursive Embedded Mesh
• This method of creating a super assembly containing sub-non-conformal assemblies is called “nested
non-conformal meshing" or “recursive embedded meshing".
• Revisiting the Separation Setting
You accepted ANSYS Icepak's recommendation to modify the separation setting in the first step. We
shall revisit that decision now. By default, the Minimum gap setting in the Mesh control panel is 0.001
m.
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8.12. Modification 5: A Simplification Based on Magnitudes of Resistances...
– Set the Minimum gap setting back to the default of 0.001 m.

– Generate the mesh.
– Pop-up message as shown in Figure 8.6 (p. 149) will reappear.
This time instead of accepting this, let's take a closer look.
Figure 8.6 Separation Warning
– This warning appears because the separation (think of it as a tolerance setting for the mesher) distance
is larger than 10% of the smallest feature in the model.
– When there are objects smaller than the mesher tolerance, those objects will not be meshed correctly.
– However, note that the separation setting is a useful tool designed to avoid unnecessary mesh due
to inadvertent misalignments in the model (without modifying the geometry).
– Look for the name of the object featured in the warning and its dimension.
– Why should you model an object that's 0.1 mm in thickness? Is it likely to improve the accuracy of
your results?
– Do not accept the suggested change to the separation setting.
8.12. Modification 5: A Simplification Based on Magnitudes of Resist-

ances...
• From the name of the object, one can infer that the warning is regarding an air gap under one of the
components, which is modeled as a thick plate.
• There is a reason for not using contact resistance type plate to model the Airgap.
– 2 thin objects cannot overlap. If the Airgap was modeled as contact resistance plate, the underlying
mask may not be meshed in the region common to the Mask and the Airgap .
→ What is the Mask thickness and conductivity?
→ What is the Airgap thickness and conductivity?
→ The purpose for modeling these 2 objects is to capture their insulating effects.
→ How does the resistance (thickness/conductivity) of the mask compare to that of the Airgap?
→ Does the mask contribute significantly to the overall (sum) of the 2 resistances?
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→ Can you justify suppressing the mask under the air gap by making the “ Airgap " a contact res-
istance plate?
→ When you make the “ Airgap " a contact resistance plate, make sure that it has higher priority
over the “ Mask " object. You can do this by editing the plate object and changing the “ Priority
" setting under the “ Info " tab. (Larger priority number means higher priority. Objects with
higher priority are listed lower in the model manager (the tree menu)).
• This time you will see another separation warning about the AL-spreader.
8.13. Modification 6: A Classic Case for Thin Conducting Plate...

• Since contact resistance plate will not model the in-plane spreading of heat, we can't use it here.
Thin conducting plate models normal, as well as planar direction conduction. At the same time the thin
conducting plate will not generate slender cells.
The decrease in thickness due to thin plate approximation of the Al-spreader is negligible.
– Change the “ Al-spreader " object from thick to thin plate type object. You have to adjust the slacks
values of the Assembly to avoid any intersection with thin conducting plate.
Note
Any time a model change like this happens, consider the implications on existing non-con-
formal assemblies. Is this creating intersections of thin conducting plate vs. non-conformal
interface? If so, readjust the slack for the heat sink assembly (Figure 8.7 (p. 150)).
Figure 8.7 Avoiding Intersection with Thin Plate
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8.14. Conclusion
Generate mesh one more time. Separation warning again - this time about the die objects which are
0.0004 mm.
The object being warned is a power generating component, which is already a thin conducting plate.
The warning is about the width of the package.
The surface area of the die is a critical parameter affecting the temperature prediction for the component.
This cannot be simplified.
Hence accept the suggested change in separation setting. The resultant mesh count will be significantly
less than what we got without any changes to the given model.
• Note that it is also possible to use separation distance larger than the recommended 10% value. Values
of up to 50% (of the smallest dimension) may be used in cases where reducing the mesh count is crit-
ical.
• Some suggested qualities of mesh for good prediction
– Size of the first cells from critical heat dissipating surfaces should be less than 1 mm for a 1st cut
analysis.
– View mesh cut plane on the wall of the enclosure object, the PCB and the critical heat generating
components to see if you are fulfilling the above requirement.
– Use “ Object params " control to request mesh refinement near all the important surfaces mentioned
above.
– Generate mesh to see if your request is being honored.
• Finally, a comparison...
For comparison purposes, deactivate the “ Mesh assemblies separately " option in the Mesh control
panel and generate the mesh. The difference between the mesh with this check button active and in-
active is the effect of non-conformal meshing.
• STOP: Solution and post processing are beyond the scope of this exercise. Please compare the suggested
approach with the approach you were attempting during the initial 15 minute period of this tutorial.
8.14. Conclusion
A model with room for improvement is provided. Using approximate object choices and meshing strategies,
the model and the mesh were improved. The approach delineated in this exercise can help reduce significant
run time without compromising the physics being modeled.
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152 Published: 2010-08-03
Loss Coefficient for a Hexa-Grille
9.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to define trials, run parametric solutions, and post-process the results. Often,
there is a need to calculate the loss coefficient of grilles that have certain hole patterns. The purpose of the
problem is to determine the minor loss coefficient of a grille that has hexagonal holes.
• Define a parameter to optimize the design.

• Define trials.
• Define primary and compound functions that you want to report.
• Calculate parametric solutions.
• Report and plot parametric results.
9.2. Prerequisites
or read Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3). Some steps in the setup and solution procedure will not
be shown explicitly.

The model includes a cabinet, 160 mm in length, with inlet and outlet openings at the two ends (with cross
sectional area of 7.363 mm x 12.7 mm), and four symmetry walls at the other sides. The model also includes
a part of the hexa-grille placed at the center of the channel in the stream-wise direction, as shown in Figure
9.1 (p. 154). The grille has one full hexagonal hole at the center and four quarter hexagonal holes placed
around it. This pattern was selected because it forms a periodic region and is sufficient to calculate the loss
coefficient. The solution obtained from this run can be replicated to form the solution for the entire domain.
Published: 2010-08-03 153

1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/loss-coefficient/loss-coefficient.tzr to your working

directory. You must replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS Icepak
is installed on your computer system.
Note
Note
The File selection panel will appear.
4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file loss-coefficient.tzr and click Open.
Note
The Location for the unpacked project file selection dialog will appear.
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like to place the packed project file, enter a project name in the New project text field, then click
Unpack.
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. ANSYS Icepak will display the model in the graphics window,
as shown in Figure 9.2 (p. 155).
Figure 9.2 Loaded Model
Save the problem to a new project file.
Note
This will allow you to expand on the problem without affecting the original file.
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File → Save project as
• In the Project text box, enter the name loss-coefficient-new.

• Click Save.
9.6. Step 3: Define Parameters and Trials
Note
You will first define a parameter and trials according to the parameter. Next, you will define a
summary report, then primary and compound functions to be reported.

1. Define a velocity parameter at the inlet opening in terms of the Reynolds number ( ).
Note

The velocity at the inlet opening in terms of the Reynolds number ( ), which is customarily
used in loss coefficient plots in lieu of velocity, is calculated as = ∗ , where the
kinematic viscosity ν = 1.5843e-5 kg/m.s, and the hydraulic diameter of the duct Dh = 9.322e-
3 m.
a. Select the inlet opening, cabinet_default_side_minx, in the Model manager window, and then
click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Openings panel.
b. Click the Properties tab.
c. Select X Velocity and set the value to $Re*1.5843e-5/9.322e-3.
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d. Click Done to set the properties of the opening. This will open the Param value panel.
e. Set the Initial value of Re to 10, and click Done to close both the Param value and the Openings
panels.
2. Define six trials according to the different values of the Reynolds number.
Solve → Define trials

a. In the Parameters and optimization panel, make sure Parametric trials and All combinations
are enabled in the Setup tab.
b. Click on the Design variables tab, enter the following values for the Reynolds number in the box
next to Discrete values: 10 50 100 500 1000 1750.
Click Apply to accept the changes.
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c. Click the Trials tab to review the trials. Turn off the Trials across top option at the bottom of
the tab, and click Reset to select Values instead of Numbered in order to use the base names
as values.
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d. Click Done to close the panel.

3. Define the report that will display average velocity and pressure data at the inlet and outlet openings.
Solve → Define report
Note
The loss coefficient is obtained by dividing the total pressure differential through the domain
by the average dynamic pressure, =
− .
− −
a. In the Define summary report panel, click New.

b. In the Objects drop-down list, select cabinet_default_side_maxx and click Accept.
c. In the Value drop-downlist, select UX.
d. Repeat steps (a) and (b), then select Pressure in the Value drop-down list.
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e. Repeat steps (a) through (d) for cabinet_default_side_minx.
f. Click the Close button to accept the settings and close the panel.
4. Set the parametric trials and define primary and compound functions.
Solve → Run optimization

a. In the Parameters and optimization panel, click the Setup tab.
b. Verify that the Parametric trials and All combinations options are turned on.
c. Click the Functions tab.
d. Define four primary functions (Pstat_in, Pstat_out, Uave_in, and Uave_out).
Note
These functions represent static pressures and velocities at the inlet and outlet, respect-
ively.
i. Under Primary functions, click the New button to open the Define primary function panel.
ii. In the Define primary function panel, enter Pstat_in for the Function name.
iii. Select Pre-defined report, select cabinet_default_side_minx Pressure from the drop-down
list and retain the selection of Max.
iv. Click Accept to accept the changes and close the panel.
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v. Repeat steps (i) through (iv) for the following three functions:
Function name Pre-defined report

Pstat_out cabinet_default_side_maxx Pressure
Uave_in cabinet_default_side_minx UX
Uave_out cabinet_default_side_maxx UX
Important
Note that all function names are case sensitive.
5. Define five compound functions (Pdyn_in, Pdyn_out, Ptot_in, Ptot_out, and Kfact).
a. Under Compound functions, click the New button to open the Define compound function
panel.
b. In the Define compound function panel, enter Pdyn_in for the Function name.
c. Next to Definition enter 0.5*1.1614*$Uave_in*$Uave_in.
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d. Click Accept to accept the changes and close the panel.

e. Repeat steps (i) through (iv) for the following four functions:
Function name Definition

Pdyn_out 0.5*1.1614*$Uave_out*$Uave_out
Ptot_in $Pstat_in+$Pdyn_in
Ptot_out $Pstat_out+$Pdyn_out
Kfact ($Ptot_in-$Ptot_out)/$Pdyn_out
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6. Click Done to close the Parameters and optimization panel.
Note
For this model, you will generate the mesh in just one step. The resulting mesh will be sufficiently
fine near object faces to resolve the flow physics properly.
Model → Generate Mesh
1. Generate the mesh for the model.

a. Keep all the defaults in the Mesh control panel.
b. Click Generate mesh in the Mesh control panel to generate the mesh.
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Note
The mesh display plane is an -

plane cut through the center of the cabinet as shown
in Figure 9.3 (p. 164).
Figure 9.3 Mesh on the x-z Plane


1. Confirm that only the flow solution is to be obtained, and the flow regime is set to laminar.

• Keep the default selection of Flow(velocity/pressure) under Variables solved.
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• Keep the default selection of Laminar for the Flow regime.

• Click Accept to close the panel.
2. Increase the Number of iterations to 500.

• Enter 500 in the Number of iterations field.
• Click Accept in the Basic settings panel.
3. Modify the under-relaxation factors.
Solution settings → Advanced settings
Note
This will open the Advanced solver setup panel.
• Set the Under-relaxation factor for Pressure to 0.7 and for Momentum to 0.3.
• Click Accept in the Advanced solver setup panel.
Note
you start the calculation, you will be able to open the project you saved and continue your ana-
lysis in a future ANSYS Icepak session. (If you start the calculation in the current ANSYS Icepak ses-
sion, ANSYS Icepak will simply overwrite your project file when it saves the model.)

• Start the calculation.
Note
Note that you can click the button in the Model and solve toolbar to display the Para-
meters and optimization panel.
– Turn off the Allow fast trials (single .cas file) option on the Setup tab.
– Click Run in the Parameters and optimization panel.
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Note
As ANSYS Icepak starts performing the trials, the Parametric trials panel will open, displaying all
the function values defined a priori, as well as parameters and running times for each trial. The
Parametric trials can also be opened by selecting Show optimization/param results from the
Report menu.
Report → Show optimization/param results
• Plot the loss coefficient, Kfact, against the Reynolds number, Re.
– In the Parametric trials panel, click the Plot button to open the Selection panel.
– In the Selection panel, select Re as the axis variable, and click Okay.
– In another Selection panel which automatically opens up, select Kfact as the y axis variable, and
click Accept.
Note
This will display the plot Kfact vs Re, as shown in Figure 9.4 (p. 167)
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Figure 9.4 Kfact vs Re Plot

In this tutorial, you used the parameterization tool to calculate the loss coefficient of a grille for different
values of Reynolds number (Re). You also defined other functions (e.g., static pressure and velocities at the
inlet and outlet) that were reported for different Reynolds numbers. The results show that as Re increases,
the loss coefficient decreases.
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Inline or Staggered Heat Sink
10.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to use the check-box (boolean) parameter control for design variables, and
how to assign primary functions, in order to determine whether an inline or a staggered pin fin heat sink
performs better in a single model. The resulting maximum temperature on the package will be compared.
Non-conformal meshing will also be employed to reduce the cell count, required memory, and run time. In
addition, particle traces passing a non-conformally meshed assembly will be presented during the post-
processing of the results.

• Define a check-box parameter (design variable).
• Define different values for a design variable.
• Run and report parametric trials.
• Clip a plane cut to align it with the sides of a heat sink assembly.
• Display particle traces coming from the fan and the opening.
10.2. Prerequisites

The model includes the Package assembly, containing a BGA package object (compact conduction model),
Inline or Staggered assemblies consisting of the respective heat sink objects, PCB object, Spreader plate,
a fan at the exit, and an opening at the inlet of the wind tunnel. The model geometry is shown in Figure
10.1 (p. 170).
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1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/heat_sink/heat_sink2b.tzr to your working directory. You must

replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS Icepak is installed on your
computer system.
Note
Note
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4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file heat-sink2b.tzr and click Open.
Note
Unpack.
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. ANSYS Icepak will display the heat sink model in the graphics
window. To view all components, expand all the assemblies of the model in the Model manager
window.
Note
translate it to any point on the screen using the middle mouse button. You can zoom into and
out from the cabinet using the right mouse button. To restore the cabinet to its default orientation,
select Home position from the Orient menu.
Note
• In the Project text box, enter the name heat-sink-new.

• Click Save.
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10.6. Step 3: Define Design Variables
Note
For both heat sinks, you will define the HeatSink parameter, which will activate/deactivate heat
sinks parametrically.
1. Define the HeatSink parameter for the Inline heat sink.

a. Select the Inline assembly in the Model manager window, and then click the Edit object button
( ) to open the Assemblies panel.
b. Click the Info tab.
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c. Right-click the Active check box to open the Active parameter panel.
d. Select Option is ON if variable is equal to this object's name.
e. Enter $HeatSink in the Variable name text box.
Caution
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f. Click Accept in the Active parameter panel to accept the changes and close the panel.
g. Click Update in the Assemblies panel to open the Param value panel.
h. In the Param value panel, enter Staggered for the Initial value of HeatSink, and click Done
to close the panel.
Note
The word Active in the Assemblies panel became green. Also, note that the Inline
assembly in the Model manager window is moved to the Inactive node.
i. Click Done in the Assemblies panel to close the panel.

2. Define the HeatSink parameter for the Staggered heat sink.
a. Repeat above steps for the Staggered assembly.
Note
You will not have to specify the initial value again.
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10.7. Step 4: Define Parametric Runs and Assign Primary Functions
Note
You will first define values for your design variable. Next, you will review parametric trials and
define primary functions to be calculated and reported.
Extra
Alternatively, you can click the button.
1. Define parameter values.

a. In the Parameters and optimization panel, click the Design variables tab.
b. Expand the HeatSink parameter from the list to view the defined variables.
c. Next to Discrete values, enter "Inline" with a space, after "Staggered".
d. Click Apply to accept the changes.
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2. Review trials.
a. Click the Trials tab.
b. Make sure that Inline Order is 1, and Staggered Order is 2.
c. Select Trials across top to change the display of the Trials tab.
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3. Define a primary function.

a. Click the Functions tab.
b. Click the New button under Primary functions.
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c. In the Define primary function panel, enter Tmax next to Function name.
d. In the Pre-defined function drop-down list, select Maximum temperature of objects.
e. Under Pre-defined function, in the Object drop-down list, select the BGA object under Package,
and click Accept.
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f. In the Define primary function panel, click Accept to save the changes and close the panel.
g. Click Done in the Parameters and optimization panel to close the panel.
Note
For this model, you will not generate a mesh in advance. Meshing will be automatically performed
for each design trial during the parametric trials.
1. Keep all the defaults in the Mesh control panel.

2. Under Global settings, make sure that the Mesh assemblies separately option is turned on.
3. Click Close in the Mesh control panel to close the panel.

Define basic parameters.

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• Keep all the defaults in the Basic parameters panel.

• Click Accept in the Basic parameters panel to accept the settings and close the panel.
Note
10.11. Step 8: Define Monitor Points
Note
It is always a good approach to define monitor points before starting to run a simulation. In this
model, a monitor point was already defined by dragging the BGA package object into the Points
node in the Model manager window. In addition to the residual plot, the monitor plot will display
temperature at the center of the BGA package object during the solution process and provide
an indication of convergence.

1. Open the Parameters and optimization panel, if it is not already opened.
Note
You can click the button in the Model and solve toolbar.
2. Click the Setup tab, and make sure that options Parametric trials and All combinations are selected.
Deselect Allow fast trials (single .cas file).
3. Click Run in the Parameters and optimization panel, to start the calculations.
Note
As ANSYS Icepak starts calculating solutions for the model, the Solution residuals window,
displaying convergence history, and the Temperature Point monitors window will open.
Also, the Parametric trials panel will open displaying the function values, as well as para-
meters and running times for both trials, as shown in Figure 10.2 (p. 181). The Parametric
trials can also be opened by selecting Show optimization/param results from the Report
menu.
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Figure 10.2 The Parametric trials Panel

1. Display velocity vectors on a plane cut at the exit region of the heat sink.
Post → Plane cut
Extra
You can also open the Plane cut panel by clicking the button.
a. In the Orient menu, select Orient negative Z.

b. In the Name field, enter the name cut_velocity.
c. In the Set position drop-down list, select Vertical-screen select.
d. Select a point in the graphics window between the fan and the heat sink assembly.
e. Turn on the Show vectors option, and click Parameters to open the Plane cut vectors panel.
f. In the Plane cut vectors panel, under Color levels, select Calculated, then select This object
from the drop-down list.
g. Select Project to plane.
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h. Click Apply in the Plane cut vectors panel to accept the changes.
i. Click the Create button and Done to close the panel.
j. In the Orient menu, select Isometric view.
Note
The graphics window will be updated, as shown in Figure 10.3 (p. 183)
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Figure 10.3 Velocity Vectors at the Exit Region of the Heat Sink
2. Clip the plane cut to align it with the sides of the heat sink assembly.
a. In the Orient menu, first select Orient positive X, then Scale to fit.
b. Unexpand the Staggered assembly node in the Model manager window, if it was expanded, in
order to see the edges of the assembly in the graphics window.
c. In the Plane cut panel (that was already opened), select Enable clipping, then click Max Y in the
orange region under Clip to box.
d. Click the top red edge of the assembly in the graphics window.
e. In the Plane cut panel, click Min Z in the orange region under Clip to box.
f. Click the left red edge of the assembly in the graphics window.
g. In the Plane cut panel, click Max Z in the orange region under Clip to box.
h. Click the right red edge of the assembly in the graphics window.
i. Click the Update button.
Note
The graphics window will be updated, as shown in Figure 10.4 (p. 184)
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Figure 10.4 Clipped Plane Cut
3. Display particle traces in a forward direction.

a. In the Orient menu, select Isometric view.
b. In the Plane cut panel, unselect Show vectors and select Show particle traces.
c. Click Parameters next to Show particle traces to open the Plane cut particles panel.
d. Select Speed from the Variable drop-down list.
e. Under Display options, select Uniform, and enter 50.
f. Under Style, keep the default selection of Dye trace Width and select Particles with Radius 2.
g. Under Color levels, select Calculated, then select This object from the drop-down list.
h. Click Apply to update the graphics panel.
Note
The graphics window will display the particle traces in the forward direction, as shown
in Figure 10.5 (p. 185)
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Figure 10.5 Forward Particle Traces
4. Display particle traces at the opening (Xmax).

a. In the Orient menu, select Orient negative Z.
b. In the Plane cut panel, select New.
c. In the Name field, enter the name opening-velocity.
d. In the Set position drop-down list, select Vertical-screen select.
e. Select a point in the graphics window near the opening (Xmax).
f. Turn on the Show particle traces option, and click Parameters to open the Plane cut particles
panel.
g. Select Speed from the Variable drop-down list.
h. Under display options, select Uniform, and enter 50.
i. Under Style, keep the default selection of Dye trace Width and select Particles with Radius 2.
j. Under Color levels, select Calculated, then select This object from the drop-down list.
k. Click Apply to update the graphics window.
l. Click Done in the Plane cut particles panel to close the panel.
m. Click Done in the Plane cut panel to close the panel.
Published: 2010-08-03 185

In this tutorial, you used the optimization tool to determine whether an inline or a staggered pin fin heat
sink performs better in a single model. The resulting maximum temperature on the package was found to
be higher in the case of the staggered heat sink.
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Minimizing Thermal Resistance
11.1. Introduction
Heat sink optimization is crucial in a variety of industrial applications. Usually, the challenge is to minimize
the thermal resistance (or to maximize the heat transfer) and the amount of material used for the heat sink.
The objective of this tutorial is to minimize the thermal resistance for the big heat sink, while keeping the
maximum temperature in the entire system below 70°C and ensuring that the total mass of the heat sinks
does not exceed 0.326 kg.
• Set up an optimization problem

• Define design variables
• Define primary, compound, and objective functions
11.2. Prerequisites

The model comprises an FR-4 board (FR-4.1) of 20.32 cm × 30.48 cm and 1.59 mm thick with several com-
ponents placed on the board (Figure 11.1 (p. 188)). Two grilles are placed at the upstream and downstream
of the board with the free flow area ratios of 60% and 50%, respectively. There are also two components
(block.1.3 and block.1.3.1) dissipating 5 W each.
There is a CPU (block.1) dissipating 50W and a heat sink (heatsink_small) is placed on the top of it. Between
the heat sink and the CPU, there is a thermal interface material (TIM_1) with a thermal conductivity of
W/mK. These components and two small power caps (power_cap_1 and power_cap_2), dissipating 1 W
each, form a non-conformal assembly (hs_assembly_1).
On the other side of the board, there are 8 chips, dissipating 20 W each, and a parallel plate heat sink
(heatsink_big) is placed on the top of the chips. Similar to the case of the small heat sink, there is a thermal
interface material (TIM_2.1 and TIM_2.1.1) between the large heat sink and the chips with the same thermal
conductivity. These components together form a non-conformal assembly (hs_assembly_2).
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1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT/tutorials/optimization/optimization.tzr
to your working directory. You must replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory
where ANSYS Icepak is installed on your computer system.
Note
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Note
4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file optimization.tzr and click Open.
Note
Unpack.
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. ANSYS Icepak will display the model in the graphics window.
To view all components, expand all the assemblies of the model in the Model manager window.
Note
translate it to any point on the screen using the middle mouse button. You can zoom into and
out from the cabinet using the right mouse button. To restore the cabinet to its default orientation,
select Home position from the Orient menu.
Note
• In the Project text box, enter the name optimization-new.

• Click Save.
Note
The large heat sink needs to be optimized in terms of the number of fins and fin thickness.
Therefore, you will define the following design variables for the large heat sink: fin count (in the
range from 2 to 18) and fin thickness (in the range from 0.254 mm to 2.032 mm).
Published: 2010-08-03 189
1. Define the finCount and finThick design variables for the heatsink_big and specify their initial
values.
a. Expand the hs_assembly_2 node in the Model manager window.
b. Select the heatsink_big in the Model manager window and click the Edit object button ( )
to open the Heat sinks panel.
c. Click the Properties tab.
d. Under Fin geometry, type $finCount next to Count, and click Enter to open the Param value
panel.
Caution
e. In the Param value panel, enter 12 for the Initial value of finCount, and click Done to close the
panel.
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f. In the Heat sinks panel, under Fin geometry, type $finThick next to Thickness, and click
Enter to open the Param value panel.
g. In the Param value panel, enter 0.762 for the Initial value of finThick, and click Done to close
the panel.
h. Click Done in the Heat sinks panel to close the panel.
2. Specify the constraint values for the design variables.
Extra:
Alternatively, you can click the button.
a. Turn on the Optimization option in the Setup tab. Then click on the Design variables tab.
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Note
The design variables that you had defined will be listed in the panel, and their initial
values will be shown in the Base value text boxes.
b. Select finCount from the list, then enter 2 for the Min value constraint, 18 for the Max value
constraint, select Allow only multiples of 1, and click Apply.
c. Select finThick from the list, then enter 0.254 for the Min value constraint, 2.032 for the Max
value constraint, and click Apply.
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11.10. Step 7: Define Primary, Compound, and Objective Functions
Note
For this model, you will not generate a mesh in advance. Meshing will be automatically performed
for each design trial during parametric trials.
1. Keep all the defaults in the Mesh control panel.

2. Under Global settings, make sure that Mesh assemblies separately option is turned on.
3. Click Close in the Mesh control panel to close the panel.

1. Keep all the defaults in the Basic parameters panel.

2. Click Accept in the Basic parameters panel to accept the settings and close the panel.
Note
Note
The objective in this tutorial is to minimize the thermal resistance of the heat sink while keeping
the maximum temperature for the entire system below 70°C and ensuring that the total mass of
the heat sinks does not exceed 0.326 kg. Therefore, you will define the following primary functions:
thermal resistance for the large heat sink (bighsrth), mass of the large heat sink (bighsms),
mass of the small heat sink (smlhsms), and global maximum temperature of 70°C (mxtmp). You
will also define a compound function, the total mass of the heat sinks of 0.326 kg (totalmass).
For the objective function, you will minimize the thermal resistance of the large heat sink
(bighsrth).
1. In the Parameters and optimization panel, click the Functions tab.

2. Define four primary functions.
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a. Define the thermal resistance function for the large heat sink (bighsrth).
i. Click the New button under Primary functions.
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ii. In the Define primary function panel, enter bighsrth next to Function name.
iii. In the Pre-defined functions drop-down list, select Thermal resistance of heatsink.
iv. Under Pre-defined functions, in the Object drop-down list, select the heatsink_big object
under hs_assembly_2, and click Accept.
v. In the Define primary function panel, click Accept to save the changes and close the panel.
b. Define the mass function for the large heat sink (bighsms).
i. Repeat step (a) for the bighsms as the Function name, Mass of objects as the Pre-defined
function, and heatsink_big as the Object.
c. Define the mass function for the small heat sink (smlhsms).
i. Repeat step (a) for the smlhsms as the Function name, Mass of objects as the Pre-defined
function, and heatsink_small as the Object.
d. Define a constraint function as the global maximum temperature of 70°C (mxtmp).
i. Click the New button under Primary functions.
ii. In the Define primary function panel, enter mxtmp next to Function name.
iii. In the Pre-defined functions drop-down list, select Global maximum temperature.
iv. Select Constraintand enter 70 in the text entry field.
v. In the Define primary function panel, click Accept to save the changes and close the panel.
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3. Define a compound function.

a. Under Compound functions, click the New button to open the Define compound function
panel.
b. In the Define compound function panel, enter totalmass for the Function name.
c. Next to Definition enter $bighsms+$smlhsms.
d. Select Constraint and enter 0.326 in the text entry field.
e. Click Accept to accept the changes and close the panel.
4. Define an objective function.
a. In the Parameters and optimization panel, select bighsrth from the Objective function drop-
down list.
b. Keep the default selection of Minimize value.
11.11. Step 8: Calculate a solution

1. Open the Parameters and optimization panel, if it is not already opened.
Note
Note that you can click the button in the Model and solve toolbar.
2. Set up the optimization process.
Note
Note that due to the geometry change based on the fin thickness and fin count, the fast
trials option is not possible in this problem.
a. In the Parameters and optimization panel, click the Setup tab.

b. Verify that the Optimization option is turned on, and keep all the defaults for this option.
c. Deselect Allow fast trials (single .cas file).
d. Select Sequential solution of flow and energy equations.
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3. Click Run in the Parameters and optimization panel to start the calculations.
Note
As ANSYS Icepak starts calculating solutions for the model, the Optimization run window will
open and ANSYS Icepak will display the function values, design variables, and the running times
for each optimization iteration. In addition, the function values and design variables are plotted
versus iteration number, as shown in Figure 11.2 (p. 198).
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Figure 11.2 The Optimization run Panel

In this tutorial, you used the optimization tool to minimize the thermal resistance for the big heat sink. The
results show that ANSYS Icepak predicts the best case (optimized) with a fin count of 18 and a fin thickness
of 0.56 mm. In this case, the maximum temperature for the entire system is determined to be 69.47°C (with
the constraint of 70°C) while the total mass is 0.326 kg (with the constraint of 0.326kg). The objective function
(thermal resistance) is predicted as 0.2473°C/W. The optimized values were determined in four iterations.

You can also try to optimize the fin count and the fin thickness of both heat sinks and the free flow area
ratios of the inlet and exit grilles. A sample case may be as follows:
• Design variables
– Fin count for the large heat sink: 2-20
– Fin thickness for the large heat sink: 0.254-2.032mm
– Fin count for the small heat sink: 2-12
– Fin thickness for the small heat sink: 0.254-2.032 mm
– Free flow area ratio of the inlet grille: 30-80%
– Free flow area ratio of the exit grille: 30-80%
• Primary functions
– Thermal resistance for the large heat sink (bighsrth)
– Mass of the large heat sink (bighsms)
– Mass of the small heat sink (smlhsms)
– Maximum temperature for the entire system: 70°C (mxtmp)
• Compound function
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– Total mass of the heat sinks: 0.45 kg (totalmass)

• Objective function
– Minimize the large heat sink thermal resistance (bighsrth)
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Radiation Modeling
12.1. Introduction
The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to model radiation in ANSYS Icepak.
In this tutorial, you will learn how to include the effects of radiation in a free convection environment with
surface-to-surface (S2S), discrete ordinates (DO) and ray tracing radiation models.
12.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have worked on the sample session in the User's Guide and Tutorial Chapter 2,
Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) and Chapter 3, RF Amplifier (p. 43) of this guide.

Radiation heat transfer becomes significant at high temperatures and is typically more important for natural
convection problems as compared to forced convection problems in electronics cooling applications. ANSYS
Icepak provides three different models to solve for radiation effects: surface to surface (S2S) model, discrete
ordinates (DO) model and ray tracing model. This tutorial involves a source with a heat sink placed on a
printed circuit board (PCB) and is being cooled with natural convection. We will first solve the model without
radiation, then use the surface to surface model followed by the discrete ordinates and the ray tracing
models and lastly compare the results of all these four cases.

Open and name a new project called hsink-rad.

Build the cabinet with the following dimensions in the Geometry tab of the edit panel (Figure 12.1 (p. 202)).
Also in the Geometry tab, enable the Fix values option to make sure the internal value stays the same as
we use different units.
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Radiation Modeling
Figure 12.1 Dimensions of the Cabinet and the Boundary Condition Specifications
In the Properties tab of the Cabinet edit panel define all the sides of the cabinet as shown above. The min
y and max y sides are defined as openings while all the remaining sides are stationary walls.
The printed circuit board (PCB), heat sink base and the fins of the heat sink will be constructed using the
block object in ANSYS Icepak. First, create a block and rename it as PCB in the Info tab of the Blocks edit
panel and then specify the dimensions of the block in the Geometry tab as shown below in Figure 12.2 (p. 202).
Figure 12.2 Dimensions of the PCB
Next we create a new material and assign it to the PCB. To do so, right click on the Model node and select
Create and Material. In the Properties tab of the Materials panel, choose Orthotropic for the Conductivity
type, enter 40, 40, and 0.4 W/mK for the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. In the Properties tab of the
PCB edit panel, assign material.1 as the Solid material.
For the heat sink base, create a new block and rename it as hs-base in the Info tab of the Blocks edit
panel and then specify the dimensions of the block in the Geometry tab as shown below in Figure 12.3 (p. 203).
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Figure 12.3 Dimensions of the hs-base
Next, create a new block and rename it as hs-fin1.1 in the Info tab of the Blocks edit panel and then specify
the dimensions of the block in the Geometry tab as shown below in Figure 12.4 (p. 203).
Figure 12.4 Heat Sink Fin Dimensions
Leave all the other properties of each of these objects as the default values. To complete the creation of
the remaining fins we will use a copy procedure. In the Model tree right click on the hs-fin1.1 object and
select Copy object. Set Number of copies to 8 and Translate to 15, 0, 0 mm for X, Y and Z offset, respect-
ively using the Copy block hs-fin1.1 dialog and click Apply to create the fins.
Next a 2D source is placed at the bottom of the heat sink which will dissipate a total of 75W. Create a source
using the source object in the model toolbar and specify the geometry and properties of the source according
to Figure 12.5 (p. 204) and click Update to complete the creation of the model.
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Radiation Modeling
Figure 12.5 Source at the Bottom on the Heat Sink
Alternatively, you can use the snapping tool from the object geometry area to snap the source dimensions
to those of the min z side of the hs-base block object.
The final model should appear as shown in Figure 12.6 (p. 205).
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Figure 12.6 Schematic of the Model

In order to generate a fine mesh on the heat sink and the neighboring regions while retaining a coarser
mesh in the remaining part of the model, we create a non-conformal assembly enclosing all the objects
created and specify separate meshing parameters for this assembly.
Choose the source (source.1), base of the heat sink (hs-base), and all the fins (hs-fin1.1.x) in the Model
tree together and right mouse click to create an assembly.
Then go to the Meshing tab of the assembly panel, click on the Mesh separately button, and specify the
slacks as well as the max sizes in each of the coordinate directions for the assembly as depicted in Figure
12.7 (p. 206). This will refine the mesh within the assembly and also prevent the increase in the overall mesh
count by confining the fine mesh to within the assembly object.
Note
The units depicted in Figure 12.7 (p. 206) are in mm and m.
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Radiation Modeling
Figure 12.7 Meshing Parameters for assembly.1
Once the assembly creation is complete, use the overall mesh controls specified in Figure 12.8 (p. 207). Make
sure that the Accept “change value" checks option is on. You can view the mesh in the model with the
regular plane cuts and surface mesh display options available in the Mesh control panel under the Display
tab.
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12.8. Step 5: Solving the model without radiation
Figure 12.8 Global Mesh Control Parameters

Once the model is meshed, we will solve it for different situations, i.e. with radiation off followed by including
the effects of radiation using both the view factor method as well as the discrete ordinates and ray tracing
methods available in ANSYS Icepak 13 or later.
12.8. Step 5: Solving the model without radiation

Click on Basic parameters under Problem setup in the Model tree. Under the General setup tab, make
sure that solution for both the Flow and Temperature is switched on. This is a natural convection problem
and hence the Gravity vector should be turned on. The flow regime Turbulent and the Zero equation
turbulence model is chosen. Make sure that the Radiation is turned Off.
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Radiation Modeling
Figure 12.9 Basic Parameters
Under the Default values tab, set the ambient and radiation temperature to 40°C. Remember that in a free
convection flow, setting a small initial velocity opposite to the gravity vector direction is suggested. Therefore,
under the Transient setup tab, enter a small velocity value for the Y velocity such as 0.01 m/s. Retain the
defaults for all other settings in the Basic parameters panel (Figure 12.9 (p. 208)).
Under Solution settings → Basic settings set the Number of iterations to be 400 and the Flow Conver-
gence criteria as 0.001 for Flow and 1e-7 for Energy. In the Advanced solver setup panel specify the Under-
relaxation parameters of 0.7 and 0.3 for Pressure and Momentum, respectively, and choose the solver type
as Double precision (Figure 12.10 (p. 209)).
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12.11. Step 8: Surface to Surface (S2S) Radiation Model
Figure 12.10 Solution Settings
Note
12.10. Step 7: Calculate a Solution- No radiation

Go to Solve in the main menu and click Run solution to bring up the Solve panel. Enter norad as the
Solution ID. Click on Start solution at the bottom of the panel. Once the solution residuals have converged
you can post process the results using plane cuts and object faces. Note the maximum value of temperature
for comparison with successive runs wherein radiative heat transfer will be enabled in the model.
12.11. Step 8: Surface to Surface (S2S) Radiation Model

Now go to Problem setup → Basic parameters and verify that Radiation is On and the Surface to surface
radiation model is enabled. To model radiation effects go to Model → Radiation or use the radiation
icon ( ) to open up the Form factors panel.
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Radiation Modeling
Under Radiation enabled select all objects by clicking All and leave all other settings to their default values.
Press Compute to calculate the view factors. You can display the view factors calculated by clicking each
participating object listed under Display values. After reviewing the view factors, click Don't recompute
and Close. The settings for the view factor calculations setup are shown in Figure 12.11 (p. 210).
Figure 12.11 Enabling Radiation in ANSYS Icepak Model
Go to Solve → Run solution and start the solver with a new solution ID (i.e., “rad").
12.12. Step 9: Discrete Ordinates (DO) Radiation Model

Next, we shall compare the discrete ordinates radiation model with the surface to surface model just used.
Go to Problem setup → Basic parameters and enable the Discrete ordinates radiation model box and
start the solution again using a new Solution ID. Once the run is complete, you can compare the temperatures
obtained by all the three different runs.
12.13. Step 10: Ray Tracing Radiation Model

Compare the ray tracing radiation model with the three previous models. Go to Problem setup → Basic
parameters and enable the Ray tracing radiation model box and start the solution again using a new
Solution ID. Once the run is complete, you can compare the temperatures obtained by all the four different
runs.

Note the maximum value of temperature for comparison with successive runs wherein radiative heat transfer
will be enabled in the model. You can clearly see that radiation is important in this model and there is a
significant difference in the maximum temperature in the field with and without radiation. Further there is
reasonably good agreement in the temperature fields obtained using the different radiation models. Figure
12.12 (p. 212) compares the temperature fields for all the four cases.
In most of the models, the use of the surface to surface (view factors) model is strongly recommended. The
discrete ordinates model should be used only for very complex geometries where there are many surfaces
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and computation of the view factors can become extremely computationally expensive. This is also true
when there are CAD objects present in the ANSYS Icepak model. The ray tracing model is also for complex
geometries and for objects that have large temperature variations.
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Radiation Modeling
Figure 12.12 Temperature Fields on the z = 20 mm plane for (a) Radiation disabled (b) S2S
radiation model (c) Discrete ordinates radiation model and (d) ray tracing radiation model
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Figure 12.13 Maximum Source Temperature for Different Models

In this problem we demonstrated how to model radiation in ANSYS Icepak. We first solved the model without
radiation and then used the surface to surface model followed by the discrete ordinates and ray tracing
methods and lastly compared the results of all four cases.
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Transient Simulation
13.1. Introduction
The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how to model and post-process transient problems.
• Define a transient problem

• Specify time-dependent parameters for objects
• Group and copy modeling objects
• Examine the results of a transient simulation, including animating results over time
13.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have worked on the sample session in the User's Guide and the first two
ANSYS Icepak tutorials of this guide.

The model involves a natural convection cooled heat sink and four heat sources attached to the bottom of
the heat sink. The power dissipated by each of the four sources varies with time and peaks at 100 W.

Create a new project called transient.
From Problem setup → Basic parameters, go to the Transient setup tab, select Transient next to Time
variation. Then enter the Start and End times as 0 and 20 seconds, respectively.
Click on Edit parameters and set the Time step increment to 1 s and the Solution save interval to 1.
Click Accept to save the new time parameters.
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Figure 13.1 Setting up the Model as Transient

Construct the model according to the following specifications. The final model is shown in Figure 13.4 (p. 219).
• Cabinet
xS 0.05 m xE 0.35 m
yS 0.1 m yE 0.55 m
zS 0.05 m zE 0.25 m
Open the Cabinet object panel, go to the Properties tab, under Wall type, change Min y and Max y
to Opening. Press Shift I for an isometric view.
• Plate
plate.1 xS = 0.1m xE = 0.3m Solid material:
Geometry: Rectangular yS = 0.2m yE = 0.4m default
Plane: X-Y zS = 0.12m (Al-Extruded)
Thermal model:
Conducting thick: 0.01m
• Blocks
Object xC yC zC Height Radius IRadius Specification

block.1 0.15 0.25 0.13 0.06 m 0.02m 0.0 Block type:
Geometry: m m m Solid
Cylinder Radius2 IRadius2 Solid material:
(Non-uniform) 0.012m 0.0 default
Plane: X-Y (Al-Extruded)
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Make two copies of the tapered fin (block.1), offset by 0.05 m in the X direction (i.e., Number of copies
= 2, and Translate with X offset = 0.05 m). Select all three tapered fins, and make two copies of this
group with an offset of 0.05 m in the Y direction (i.e., Number of copies = 2, and Translate with Y
offset = 0.05 m). Remember to right mouse click on the icon in the Model tree to copy objects. These
tapered cones model a heat sink with tapered cone fins.
• Sources
The four sources have a peak power of 100 Watts each with a cycle time of 20 seconds. The variation
= ×
and are constant, and
ofispower is according to the following exponential curve,
the time.
, where
source.1 xS = 0.12 m xE = 0.18 m Total heat = 100
Geometry: Rectangular yS = 0.22 m yE = 0.28 m Watts
Plane: X-Y zS = 0.12 m
Create a source (source.1) per the specification in the table above. Double-click source.1 icon to open
the Sources panel. Toggle on Transient in the Properties tab, click Edit, and enter 0 for tS and 20 for
tE. To specify the variation curve, click on Exponential and set a = 0.025 and b = 100. Click Update
and Done.
Figure 13.2 Defining Transient Power for the Sources
Now make one copy of source.1 with an offset of 0.1 m in the X-direction. Group source.1 and
source.1.1, then make one copy of these two sources with an offset of 0.1 m in the Y-direction to
complete the construction of the sources.
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To view the time-dependent power specified for the sources, expand Problem setup and open the
Basic parameters panel. Select the Transient setup tab and click on View (next to Transient/ Edit
parameters) near the very top of this panel. This will display the time variation of the power specified
using sources.
Figure 13.3 Viewing the Variation of Power on the Sources with Time
The final model should appear as that shown in Figure 13.4 (p. 219).
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Figure 13.4 Schematic of the Model
13.6. Step 3: Viewing HTML Summary

Go to the View menu and then select Summary (HTML). The HTML version of the summary will be displayed
in your web browser. The summary includes simplified and cleaned up key information for each assembly
and object type such as power, material, shape and type. In order to make any changes to existing objects
and its specifications, return to the appropriate modeling object panel and change the settings in the same
way that you originally entered them.

To generate a mesh for this model, specify a global maximum element size of 0.02 m in the x, y and z direc-
tions (Max X size, Max Y size and Max Z size) and set max init height = 0.005m. Under Mesh parameters,
select Normal and keep the default global mesh settings parameters. Then generate and display mesh.
Please note that the init height feature can be used in a relatively simple model as this. It is not recommended
to be used for complex models as this can create very large mesh count.
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The transient settings for this model were defined at the initial stages of model building. This is required as
assigning transient power to the sources require the problem as transient a priori.
In the General setup tab of the Basic parameters panel, ensure Laminar is set for Flow regime, and toggle
on the default Gravity vector (i.e., X = 0, Y = -9.80665 m/s2, Z = 0). Finally, give a small initial (global) velocity
of 0.001 m/s in the Y direction under Transient setup. Accept the changes made and exit this window.
Expand Solution settings in the tree and select Basic settings, click on Reset to examine the estimated
Rayleigh number. Then open Advanced settings to ensure that the Under-relaxation factors have been
set to 0.7 and 0.3 for Pressure and Momentum, respectively.
Under the Solution settings → Basic settings, set Iterations/ timestep to 100. The number of iterations
per time-step should be sufficient for the solution to converge at each time-step.
A point monitor will be created to monitor the temperature change with time. To create a temperature
point monitor at the center of a source, drag and drop source.1 into the Points folder in the Model tree.

Save the model after the model building and meshing is complete.

Go to Solve → Run solution. Click Write overview of results when finished under the Options tab and
click Start solution.

Results of transient runs can be displayed in still images or animations. To display still images, you can
choose to display at a given time or a given time-step.
After creating post objects in the same manner as in a steady state run, go to Post → Transient settings
to open the Post-processing time panel. To display at a given time-step, toggle on Time step, and click
Forward or Backward to step through the time steps. To display at a given time, toggle on Time value, fill
in the time to begin the display and the time Increment, and Forward or Backward.
Now, create the following post-processing objects:

face.1 Object: all blocks and plate.1 Observation(s)
Show contours: Parameters: The view shows the temperature distribution on the
faces of all the blocks and the base plate. The
transport of thermal energy from the sources to the
fins of the heatsink can be clearly observed.
Contours of: Temperature
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Contours options: Solid fill/ Smooth
Post → Transient settings:
Time step: 1 or Time value: 0
Forward or Backward
cut.1 Set position: Z plane through Observation:
center The view shows air flowing from one opening to the
other. Also notice that the velocity distribution
changes with time.
Show vectors: Parameters
Color by: Velocity magnitude
Transient: Same as the above
To animate the above post objects, go to Post → Transient settings to open the Post-processing time
panel. Click on Animate to open the Transient animation window. To animate the current display on
screen, click on Animate in the Transient animation panel. The animation can be played once, from the
start time to end-time, or in the Loop mode.
In addition to animating the display in screen, you can also write the animation to a file in MPEG, GIF, and
some other neutral formats to be saved and played back later using a third party software. To do that, go
to Post → Transient settings, then click Animate to open the Transient animation panel. Toggle on
Write to file, then click Write to open the Save animation panel. Pick a file format, give it a file name, and
then Save. This sequence will save the entire display area with no scaling.
Alternatively, one can click on the Options tab in the Save animation panel and modify the Scale factor
in the Save animation options panel. Also available in Save animation options panel is Print region.
Choose the default Full screen or Mouse selection. Choosing Mouse selection allows one to draw a rubber
band and select only a part of the screen. To do so, choose Mouse selection, specify the file type and file
name, then click on Save in the Save animation panel. With the cursor showing a square and the red
prompt at the bottom of the screen, draw a rectangular region with the left mouse to save it to the animation
file.

In this tutorial, you set up and solved a transient model and used the animation technique to examine the
results over time.
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Zoom-In Modeling
14.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to create and modify a zoom-in model (system sub-model) in ANSYS Icepak.
• Create a zoom-in model from a solved system level model

• Run that model with more detail added
• Merge the detailed system level model back into the system level model
14.2. Prerequisites
Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) of this guide. Some steps in the setup and solution procedure
will not be shown explicitly.

The objective of this exercise is to become familiar with ANSYS Icepak's zoom-in-model capabilities. Detailed
systems can sometimes be solved first with reasonable simplifications, and then have more detailed sub-
models run from boundary conditions created from the region in question. For example, multiple packages
can be simplified as one plate with the total power of all packages. A system level model can be solved,
and a sub-region can be created with the velocities and temperatures from the system level model and have
more detail on the board in question.
In this tutorial, you will run a simplified system level model of a slotted chassis, learn how to create an ANSYS
Icepak zoom-in model, run that model and then merge the detailed section back into the original system.
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Zoom-In Modeling

1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/rack/rack.tzr to your working directory. You must replace ICE-

PAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS Icepak is installed on your computer
system.
Note
Note
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4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file rack.tzr and click Open.
Note
like to place the packed project file, enter a project name in the New project text field then click Un-
pack.
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. Look at the specifications of the different components. The
model has 10 pairs of plates (Figure 14.1 (p. 224)). If you examine any pair of plates, plate.1.x
represents the PCB and plate.2.x represents the components on that PCB. In real life each PCB
would have many components mounted on it. We are simplifying the model by representing the
components with a single plate. The thickness of these plates equals the average height of the
components. All the PCBs have the same configuration and the same components. The total
power of the components in each PCB is 30 W, so each of the plates (plate.2.x) are 30 W.
Note
• In the Project text box, enter the name rack-new.

• Click Save.
Note
For this model, you will generate the mesh in just one step. You will specify object-specific
meshing parameters to ensure that the resulting mesh is sufficiently fine near object faces to re-
solve the flow physics properly.
1. Go to Model → Generate Mesh or use the toolbar shortcut ( ) to open the Mesh control panel.
2. In the Mesh control panel, set the Max X size, Max Y size, and Max Z size to 0.03 if not already
set. This sets the background Cartesian mesh's maximum size in all three directions.
3. Verify that the Coarse option is selected next to Mesh parameters.
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Zoom-In Modeling
4. Toggle on Object parameters in the mesh control window (Figure 14.2 (p. 226)). Highlight the object
in the Model tree and click on the right mouse button and select Edit mesh parameters option.
Verify that the individual localized mesh settings for the following objects to be:
Object type Object name Parameter Requested Value

Openings All openings Y count 10
Plates All plates Low end height 0.003
High end height 0.003
Block block.3 Y count 4
Note
Note that you can set mesh parameters on multiple objects in the Per-object meshing
parameters panel.
Figure 14.2 Object Parameters in the Mesh control Panel
5. In the Mesh control panel, generate the mesh, display and check the mesh quality.
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1. In the model tree, go to Solution settings, then to Basic Settings and Advanced Settings menus,
and verify that the following values are set for each variable:
2. Go to Problem Setup → Basic parameters menu, make sure the Flow regime is Turbulent and the
turbulence model is Zero equation under the General setup tab.
3. Now add two temperature point monitors for plate2.1 and plate2.2 into the Points folder to observe
the progress of the solution at the center of the objects. To do this, highlight both objects in the
Model tree using the Ctrl key and the left mouse button then drag objects into the Points folder. The
default setting for a monitor point is temperature so nothing else has to be done.
Note

1. Go to Solve → Run solution menu and turn on Enable sequential solution of flow and energy
equations under the Advanced tab.
Note
When gravity is not turned on in the solution, you have the opportunity to reduce solve
time if desired by selecting this option. Since there are no buoyancy effects, there is no
longer a coupling of the Navier-Stokes and energy equations. Thus, you can completely
converge the flow equations and then use that value in the energy equation instead of
solving both on every iteration.
2. Click Start solution to run the solver.

1. After the solution has converged, create the following post processing objects:
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Zoom-In Modeling

face.1 Object: plate2.2 Object-face view of temperature on plate2.2
Show contours: Observation(s)
Parameters Note the min & max temperatures and the temper-
ature distribution.
Contours options: Solid fill/ Banded
Contour levels:
Level spacing: Fixed/ Number = 20
Calculated: This object
face.2 Object: all fans Objects-face showing the flow pattern.
Show particle traces: Parameters Observation(s):
Variable: Speed Animate the particle traces.
Display options: Uniform = 50 If you want to see motion from start to end, turn
off particles and animate the traces.
Style: Dye trace and Particles
cut.1 Plane location: Plane cut (x-y) view of the velocity vectors in the z
plane.
Set position: Z plane through center
Show vectors: Parameters Observation(s)
Accept all default parameters Flow patterns (especially around the plates)
cut.2 Plane location: Plane cut (y-z) view of the velocity vectors in the x
plane.
Set position: X plane through center
Accept all default parameters Flow patterns (especially around the plates)
face.1 and cut.1 should look similar to Figure 14.3 (p. 229) and Figure 14.4 (p. 230).
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Figure 14.3 face.1(Plate2.2 Temperature)
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Zoom-In Modeling
Figure 14.4 cut.1 (Z-Plane Through Center Velocity)
2. Finally, save all the postprocessing objects created. Go to Post → Save post objects to file. Save it
with default file name post_objects to be used in future.
14.11. Step 8: Create a Zoom-In Model

With a solution obtained for the main model, we can now zoom-in around one pair of PCB-components
plates, namely plate.1.2 and plate.2.2. These are the third pair from the left.
1. Go to Post → Create zoom-in model. The zoom-in modeling window appears. The boundaries for
the zoom-in also appear in the ANSYS Icepak main window as a bold white box. By default this zoom-
in box is coincidental with the cabinet.
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14.11. Step 8: Create a Zoom-In Model
2. Resize this box by entering the values shown in Figure 14.5 (p. 231) into the zoom-in window. Be sure
to change Max Y to an outflow and Min Z and Max Z to walls. (Please note that the zoom-in box now
surrounds plate.1.2 and plate.2.2 and includes portions of some on the remaining system level model
objects (Figure 14.6 (p. 232)).) There needs to be one outflow to compensate for slight differences in
flow with a pressure differential. The wall objects are created since the entire face on that side is created
in a solid or on a solid surface.
Figure 14.5 The Zoom-in modeling setup Panel
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Zoom-In Modeling
Figure 14.6 Zoom in Box
3. Click on Accept to create the zoom-in model. Since many of the parts in the zoom-in model extend
out of the zoom-in box, a warning message window should pop up listing a set of objects that lie
outside.
4. In the Objects overlapping dialog box, click the Resize button to resize these parts to fit into the
zoom-in model. ANSYS Icepak will write out a zoom-in model called rack-new.zoom_in. ANSYS Ice-
pak will report on the operations to construct the model and create the profiles in the ANSYS Ice-
pak messages window.
14.12. Step 9: Edit the Zoom-in Model

1. Open a new session of ANSYS Icepak and open the zoom-in model called rack-new.zoom_in by using
the Existing selection button. (It will be in the same location as the folder for the system level model.)
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14.12. Step 9: Edit the Zoom-in Model
In the system level model we used a single conducting thick plate to represent the components. We
can now replace the plate.2.2 by the individual components.
2. Change the coordinate display of plate.2.2 to Start/length, and make the following changes to
plate.2.2.
Field Value
Name Chip
YL 0.05 m
ZL -0.05
Power 3.0 W
3. Create nine additional components in an array.

a. Right mouse click chip and select Copy object.
b. Create two copies of chip with an Z-offset of -0.065 m.
c. Select and highlight all three chip plates in the Model tree.
d. Make three copies of the three plates with an Y-offset set to 0.07 m in the same way you copied
the singe chip.
e. View the geometry in isometric view (Shift I).
f. Delete two of the components to form the pattern shown in Figure 14.7 (p. 234).
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Zoom-In Modeling
Figure 14.7 Schematic of the Completed Zoom-in Model
14.13. Step 10: Mesh the Zoom-In Model

1. Go to Model → Generate mesh, verify that Global Settings are Coarse for mesh parameters.
2. Turn off the Object params and enter the following global mesh settings:
Table 14.1 Global Settings for Zoom-in Model

Max X size: 0.003
Max Y size: 0.02
Max Z size: 0.02
Min elements in fluid gap = 2
Min elements on solid edge = 1
Max size ratio = 3
The meshing panel should now look like Figure 14.8 (p. 235).
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14.14. Step 11: Zoom-In Physical and Numerical Settings
Figure 14.8 Zoom-in Mesh control Panel
Generate the mesh and then display and check the mesh quality.
14.14. Step 11: Zoom-In Physical and Numerical Settings

1. Drag and drop the two chips in the corners of the top row (chip.5 and chip2.3) into the Points folder
in the Model tree to monitor the temperature at the centers of these two chips.
2. Delete the monitor point plate.2.2 brought in from the system level model (it no longer exists as an
object).
3. Go to Solution settings → Basic settings to change the maximum number of iterations to 300.
4. Solve the model by selecting Solve → Run solution and by clicking on Start solution under the
Options tab.
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Zoom-In Modeling
14.15. Step 12: Examine the Zoom-in Results

After the solution has converged, create the following postprocessing objects and compare the results with
the system level models.

face.1 Object: all chips Object-face view of temperature on all chips
Parameters Note the min & max temperatures and the
Contours of: Temperature temperature distribution.
Contours options: Solid/ Smooth
face.2 Object: side_opening.miny Object-face showing the flow pattern
Show particle traces: Observation(s)
Parameters Note the flow pattern on both sides of
Variable: Speed plate1.2 and over the components. Animate
Particle options the particle traces.
Start time: 0; End time: 1
Display options: Uniform = 100
Style: Dye trace and Particles
Figure 14.9 (p. 237) shows the two object faces at the same time.
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Figure 14.9 face.1 and face.2

If we were to model all the components in the system level model, we could have ended up with a cell
count of about 10 times the size of the zoom-in model. The simplifications at the system-level enabled us
to quickly solve the system level model. The zoom-in model showed us the temperature variation at the
card level, which was essential to identify the correct locations of the hot spots.
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Zoom-In Modeling

Additional exercise may be performed to create a non-conformal mesh assembly surrounding the details of
the third PCB in the main model. Then, the results obtained using non-conformal meshed assembly may be
compared to the results obtained using the main model with the conformal mesh and to the ones from the
zoom_in approach with conformal mesh.
1. Save the rack-new.zoom_in model with a new model such as rack.zoom_in_merge.

2. Delete all the components within the model except all the plates which represents the PCB and the
chips and re-save the model. (This version has all the unnecessary components for the system merge
removed.)
3. Open the main model rack.
4. Save it as rack-merge-NC.
5. Use File → Merge Project to import rack.zoom_in_merge into this model with all the details of
chips.
6. Deactivate the old components residing where the merged components are.
7. Create a non-conformal assembly containing all the chips and the board. It is suggested a slack value
of 3-5 mm in all directions for the assembly is a good value to start without violating any of the rules.
8. Finally, mesh and run the model with a different solution ID and compare the results to the previously
obtained ones. Verify that the results are very comparable.
Figure 14.10 (p. 238) shows a temperature comparison between the zoom-in model and the system
level model with a non-conformal assembly. While the temperatures are slightly different, the overall
distribution (hot spots) stay the same.
Figure 14.10 Temperature Comparison: Zoom-invs.System with Non-conformal assembly
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IDF Import
15.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates the “IDF" import capability of ANSYS Icepak.
• Import IDF files.

• Apply the various options offered in ANSYS Icepak's IDF import capability.
15.2. Prerequisites
or read Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3). If you have not, please review the sample session in
Chapter 1 of the User's Guide.

Intermediate Data Format (IDF) is a data exchange specification between ECAD and MCAD for the design
and analysis of printed circuit boards. An IDF CAD model is generated by software such as Mentor Graphics.
Typical IDF models include a board file and a library file. The board file includes board layout (board dimension
and shape, location of the components), and the library file includes component information (size, power
dissipation, junction to case and junction to board thermal resistance, etc.). ANSYS Icepak's IDF import utility
is designed to convert the IDF CAD data into an ANSYS Icepak model automatically. ANSYS Icepak imports
the geometry as well as parameters such as power and material property based on the availability of such
information.
This tutorial does not involve generating a mesh, calculating a solution or examining results. These steps
will not be shown in this tutorial.

Note
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IDF Import
Note
3. Specify a name for your project and click Create.

a. In the Project text box, enter the name idf-demo.
b. Click Create.
Note
To build the model, you will first import the board layout. The board and the associated library
files have to be chosen at this step.
File → Import → IDF file
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Figure 15.1 IDF Import Menu
1. In the IDF import panel, click the Browse button next to the Board file (ascii) field and select the
file (brd_board.emn). Board files will have extension“*.emn"or“*.brd". Note that the library file
(brd_board.emp) gets loaded automatically. Specify Project Name as IDFDemo (Figure 15.2 (p. 241)).
Figure 15.2 IDF Import Panel
2. Click Next and go on to the board layout panel (Figure 15.3 (p. 242)). Retain all default settings:
• Import type as Detail
• Board plane as XY - this is always detected automatically
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IDF Import
• Board shape as Rectangular

• Board properties - Click Edit button to access the PCB properties to enter details such as number
of trace layers, coverage and layer thickness etc. Layer properties refer to the average properties
of all trace layers. In this example, examine the defaults, and click Apply to close the Board
properties panel.
Figure 15.3 Board Layout Panel
Note: More advanced PCB models are covered in the introductory tutorial, Tutorial Chapter 3, RF
Amplifier (p. 43), and application tutorial, Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards (p. 277)
located in this tutorial guide.
Note: Drilled holes are for positioning purposes and usually are not thermally important. During the
import, they can be ignored. By default, ANSYS Icepak leaves import drilled holes unchecked under
Detailed options.
Note: Toggle on Make all components rectangular under Detailed options to convert all polygonal
components to prisms.
3. To select components and complete the import, click Next to see the IDF import Component filters
panel. Components can be filtered either by size and power (Figure 15.4 (p. 243)), or by component
type (Figure 15.5 (p. 243) and Figure 15.6 (p. 244)). For now, do not set any filters.
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Figure 15.4 IDF Import Components filters Panel - Filter by Size/Power
Figure 15.5 IDF Import Component filters Panel - Filter by Component Type
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IDF Import
Figure 15.6 Component selection Panel- Filter by Component Type
4. Click on Next to go to the IDF import Component models panel (Figure 15.7 (p. 245)). Component
properties can be added or modified here.
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Figure 15.7 IDF import Component Models Panel
5. Select Model all components as option, then select 3d blocks next to the Model all components
as option. Leave all other fields at default values.
6. Click on Next to go to the IDF import Miscellaneous options panel (Figure 15.8 (p. 246)). Select Append
Part Name to Reference Designator under Naming conventions.
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IDF Import
Figure 15.8 IDF import Miscellaneous Options Panel
7. Click Finish to complete the import.

8. Examine the imported model (Figure 15.9 (p. 247)). Observe:
• the different types of blocks
• material properties of the PCB block, which is called BOARD_OUTLINE.1
• the power and resistance values of the network blocks, if any
Notes:
• The components form into groups according to types automatically
• Use edit function under groups to change properties for all the components in the same group at
one time
• Check message windows for missing properties
Figure 15.9 (p. 247) shows ANSYS Icepak model with components modeled as 3D objects (solid blocks
or two-resistor network blocks). Appropriate boundary conditions need to be applied before starting
thermal analysis.
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15.7. Step 4: Component Models Alternatives
Figure 15.9 IDF Imported Model with All Components
15.6. Step 3: Component Filtration Alternatives

1. If Filter by size/power is chosen (Figure 15.4 (p. 243)), the size filter and/or power filter may be specified.
Only those components that are either larger than the specified size filter, or dissipate more than the
specified power filter, will be imported. If these fields are ignored, all components will be imported.
2. If Filter by component type is chosen (Figure 15.5 (p. 243)), the required components can be selected
through the Component selection panel (Figure 15.6 (p. 244)); alternatively, all components will be
included. The Component selection panel contains reference designators for all components.
15.7. Step 4: Component Models Alternatives

1. The Model all components as option is available through both filtration mechanisms.
2. The Choose specific component model option is available when filtering by component type. ANSYS
Icepak allows the component property to be added if no thermal information is available from the IDF
file (IDF 2.0), or modify properties if it is available (IDF 3.0).
3. Under Choose specific component model, properties of required components can be loaded from
an existing file using the Load data from file option. The format for the file is:
Reference designator Power (mW) Rjc (C/W) Rjb (C/W)
Figure 15.10 (p. 248) shows a sample file. Objects not present in the file will be imported with data
already present in the IDF file, or as solid blocks with no power specification.
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IDF Import
Figure 15.10 Set Component Property Using File
4. Component properties may also be edited manually by selecting the Specify values for individual
component types option. The components to be imported are listed under Selected components.
The component name is composed of the type and name and the number of copies, followed by a
more descriptive part name (Figure 15.11 (p. 249)). To manually set the component property, select the
component in the Selected components list. Multiple selection can be made with Ctrl + left mouse
or Shift + left mouse. Then, choose the model type: Two-resistor (Rjc-Rjb), 3d blocks, or 2d sources,
and specify power. For two-resistor model, Rjc and Rjb values needs to be specified as well. Click Apply
to complete the modification.
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Figure 15.11 Manual Selection of Component Models

IDF import capability of ANSYS Icepak was used to import a board level model with all components. It was
observed that the board properties and component properties (where specified) were automatically updated
in the ANSYS Icepak model. Components filtration and modeling alternatives that are available in the IDF
import mechanism, were also discussed.
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Modeling CAD Geometry
16.1. Introduction
Complex geometries are common in today's electronics cooling applications. Examples include complex
enclosure shapes, heat sink fins, louvers, etc. Proper accounting of the geometry of these objects is important
for accurate prediction of flow and heat transfer. Modeling of these complex geometries is possible by using
the direct CAD modeling feature in ANSYS Icepak. The hex-dominant mesher is used to create an unstructured
mesh for these complex shapes.
This tutorial demonstrates how to use the hex-dominant mesher to create an unstructured mesh for complex
shapes in ANSYS Icepak.
• Use a CAD object and create an unstructured mesh using the hex-dominant mesher.
• Solve for flow and heat transfer in a model.
• Examine contours and vectors on object faces and on cross-sections of the model.
16.2. Prerequisites
with the interface. If you are not, please review the sample session in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide.

The cabinet contains a heat sink 1 with extruded fins having aerofoil cross section, mounted on a block with
a heat source placed between them. These objects are placed in a wind tunnel setup as shown in Figure
16.1 (p. 252).
1
The heat sink used for this sample problem was obtained from the company Alpha , www.alphanovatech.com/cindexe.html#w.
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Figure 16.1 Wind Tunnel Model with Heatsink Modeled as CAD Block
16.4. Step 1: Creating a New Project

Note
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Note

a. In the Project text box, enter the name shapes.
b. Click Create.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a default cabinet with the dimensions 1 m × 1 m × 1 m and display
the cabinet in the graphics window.
Note
To build the model, you will first create the CAD block representing the heat sink. You will need
to import the required CAD file into ANSYS Icepak. ANSYS Icepak can import CAD files in step
and IGES formats.
1. Import the IGES/Step file into ANSYS Icepak
Model → CAD data → Load

• Select Model in the main toolbar and click on CAD data.
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• Select Load in the CAD data panel and click on Load IGES/Step file.
• Select w35-20.stp in the File selection panel and click Open.
• The CAD model appears in the graphics display window.

2. In the CAD data panel, select the surfaces to be used to create the CAD block.
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• In the Creation mode section of the CAD data panel, ensure Selected is enabled.
• Select Use CAD surfaces directly.
• In the Create object section, select Blocks.
• Drag a rectangular region around the displayed CAD model to select the surfaces to be used to
create the CAD block. Clicking on the middle mouse button creates the block (e.g., F_342 or sim-
ilar name) which can be used in the ANSYS Icepak model. In the CAD data panel, under Families,
click None to hide all CAD lines and surfaces.
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Model → Cabinet
a. In the Cabinet object panel, click the Geometry tab.
b. Under Location, enter the Start/end coordinates shown in Table 16.1: Coordinates for the Cabin-
et (p. 256) :
Caution
Note that the dimensions are in mm.
Table 16.1 Coordinates for the Cabinet

xS -100 mm xE 150 mm
yS -5 mm yE 20 mm
zS -25 mm zE 25 mm
c. Click Update to resize the cabinet.

d. In the Orient menu, select Scale to fit to scale the view of the cabinet to fit the graphics window
(Figure 16.2 (p. 256)).
Figure 16.2 Creating the Heat Sink CAD Block From a CAD File
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4. Edit the cabinet properties to specify the Min x and Max x sides as openings. Select Opening from
the drop-down menu under Wall type for Min x and Max x. Select Edit to display the opening for
the Min x object panel and specify the velocity to be 5 m/s.
Note
Then you will create a metal block, source, and a wall.
5. Create a block at the base of the heat sink.
a. Click the create blocks icon ( ) to create a new block.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will create a new solid prism block in the center of the cabinet. You will
need to change the size of the block.
b. Click the edit object icon ( ) to open the Blocks panel.

d. Enter the Start/end coordinates for the Prism block as shown in Table 16.2: Coordinates for the
Block (p. 257).
Table 16.2 Coordinates for the Block

xS -30 mm xE 30 mm
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yS -5 mm yE 0 mm
zS -25 mm zE 25 mm
Note
The block touches the cabinet in the Min y direction, and the heat sink in Max y. The
Min z and Max z sides of the block touch the cabinet.
Note
In the Properties tab, select Solid for the Block type if not already selected. Under
Thermal specification, keep default as the Solid material. Since the default solid
material is extruded aluminum, you need not specify the material explicitly here.
e. Click Done to modify the block and close the panel.

6. Create a source between the base block and the heat sink.
a. Click the create sources icon ( ) to create a source.

b. Edit the source geometry with the Start/end dimensions given in Table 16.3: Coordinates for the
Source (p. 258).
Table 16.3 Coordinates for the Source

xS -10 mm xE 10 mm
yS 0 yE —
zS 10 mm zE -10 mm
Note
Select X-Z for the Plane.
c. Edit the source property and specify a fixed power of 50.0 Watts.
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d. Click Done to modify the source property and close the panel.
Note
Heat transfer is allowed from the base of the metal block by creating a wall, wall.1 on the
Min y side of the block, on the cabinet boundary.
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7. Create a wall at the base of the metal block.

a. Edit the Rectangular wall geometry with Start/end dimensions given in Table 16.4: Coordinates
for the Wall (p. 260).
Table 16.4 Coordinates for the Wall

xS -30 mm xE 30 mm
yS -5 mm yE —
zS -25 mm zE 25 mm
Note
Select X-Z for the Plane.
To specify the boundary condition of the wall, edit the wall properties, and click on external
conditions. Enable the heat transfer coefficient and use a constant base value of 10 W/km2.
Figure 16.3 Specifying Boundary Condition for the Wall
The final model should correspond to the one shown in Figure 16.1 (p. 252).
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Note
In order to properly mesh the heat sink, a fine mesh needs to be used in that region. To reduce
the overall mesh count, the finely meshed region should be secluded using a separately meshed
assembly.
1. Choose the heat sink (“F_342" or similar name) and source.1 from the model and create an assembly,
“assembly.1". The meshing parameters for this assembly are shown in Figure 16.4 (p. 262).
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Note
The slacks in the Min z and Max z directions are specified by snapping with the cabinet
boundary in the respective directions. Note the use of Max mesh size in each direction to
control the mesh refinement in the assembly.
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Note
Another separately meshed assembly, assembly.2 is created with assembly.1 to enable a

smooth transition of the fine mesh in assembly.1 to the relatively coarse mesh in the outer
regions of the model.
2. Choose assembly.1, block.1 and wall.1 from the model and create assembly.2. The meshing parameters
including the slack values and the max grid size for this assembly are shown in Figure 16.5 (p. 263).
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Note
The specification of a larger max grid size in this assembly compared to assembly.1.
3. Specify the overall mesh controls, see Figure 16.6 (p. 265) of the Mesh control panel below for input
values.
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Figure 16.6 Mesh control Panel Inputs
Caution
Mesh units are in mm.
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Note
The hex-dominant mesher has been used in the global settings. An alternative way would
be to specify Hexa unstructured or Hexa cartesian mesh for the overall domain, and use
hex-dominant only in the inner assembly.1, which contains the CAD object heat sink. Note
that only hex-dominant should be used to mesh CAD blocks.
Note
The surface mesh on the heat sink and the mesh on the center “y" plane is shown in Figure
16.7 (p. 266). The relatively coarse mesh in the overall cabinet, the intermediate mesh in as-
sembly.2 and the fine mesh in assembly.1 is clearly seen in the central “y" plane view of the
mesh as shown in Figure 16.8 (p. 267).
Figure 16.7 Mesh Near Heat Sink
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Figure 16.8 Y-Plane View of Mesh

1. Click on Basic parameters under Problem Setup in the model tree.
2. Under General Setup make sure that both the flow and the temperature fields are switched on.
Note
This is a forced convection problem; therefore the natural convection as well as radiation
effects can be ignored.
3. Switch off the radiation and the gravity vector.

4. Choose Zero equation turbulence for the model.
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Note
The problem being dominated by forced convection, a sequential solution of flow and energy
equation shall be used.
5. Under Solution settings → Basic settings, specify the number of iterations to be 300, the flow
convergence to be 0.001 and the energy convergence criterion to be 1e-14, as shown in Figure
16.9 (p. 269).
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Figure 16.9 Basic settings Panel
6. Stringent energy convergence criterion is required when the energy equation is solved separately.
Under Solution settings → Advanced settings, make sure that the pressure and momentum under-
relaxation parameters are 0.3 and 0.7 respectively. W cycle should be chosen for temperature and the
corresponding Termination criterion and the Residual reduction tolerance should be set to 1e-6.
Change Precision to Double. These settings are used for separate solution of the energy equation
(Figure 16.10 (p. 270)).
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Figure 16.10 Advanced solver setup Panel
Note
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Note
You can click the save project button ( ) in the File commands toolbar.

1. Select the Solve menu and click Run Solution to display the Solve panel. Select the Advanced tab
and click on Enable sequential solution of flow and energy equations, before starting the solution.
a. Keep the default settings in the Solve panel.
b. Click Start solution to start the solver.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will begin to calculate a solution for the model, and a separate window
will open where the solver will print the numerical values of the residuals. ANSYS Ice-
pak will also open the Solution residuals graphics display and control window, where
it will display the convergence history for the calculation.
Note that the actual values of the residuals may differ slightly on different machines,
so your plot may not look exactly the same as Figure 16.11 (p. 272).
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Figure 16.11 Residuals
c. Click Done in the Solution residuals window to close it.
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Note
The distribution of the different quantities on the CAD heat sink can be visualized using the object
face option, as in any other ANSYS Icepak object.
1. Click the object face icon ( ) under the post-processing part of the shortcut toolbar and choose the
CAD block. Click on show contours. Click on parameters and leave the default variable Temperature
and under calculated, choose this object (Figure 16.12 (p. 273)).
Figure 16.12 Post Object Face Settings for CAD Block
Note
This will map the color range to the temperature distribution on the heat sink. The temper-
ature on a given point can be seen using the surface probe tool.
Figure 16.13 (p. 274) shows the temperature distribution on the heat sink.
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Figure 16.13 Temperature Distribution on the Heat Sink
2. Click the plane cut icon ( ) under the post-processing part of the shortcut toolbar. Select Y plane
through center in the Set position field. Select Show vectors and click on Parameters. Keep the default
values in the Plane cut vectors panel and click Apply and Done. Zoom in to display more details.
The velocity field around the heat sinks fins, visualized on the central y -plane, is shown in Figure
16.14 (p. 275).
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Figure 16.14 Velocity Field Around the Heat Sinks Fins

In this tutorial, you imported a CAD object and set up a problem. You then created an unstructured mesh
using the hex-dominant mesher. This forced convection problem was solved for flow and heat transfer and
the results were examined on object faces and cut planes in the model.
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Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards
17.1. Introduction
A printed circuit board (PCB) is generally a multi-layered board made of dielectric material and several layers
of traces. From the thermal modeling point of view, a PCB may be treated as a homogeneous material with
bi-directional thermal conductivity, i.e. thermal conductivity value is different in the normal-to-plane direction
than that of in-plane. This approach is reasonable as long as the trace distribution is more-or-less uniform
in any given layer. However, with the continuing challenges to increase product functionality while decreasing
product size, designers are compelled to place more and more functionality on individual PCB's. As PCB's
become more densely populated, their trace layers are becoming more non-uniform and it is prudent to
use locally varying thermal conductivity information on the board.
Conducting a computational heat transfer simulation for each individual layer is costly and impractical for
a system level model. In ANSYS Icepak, it is possible to import trace layout of the board and compute locally
varying orthotropic conductivity (kx, ky, and kz) on the board using a profile mesh size. The supported file
formats are (1) MCM, BRD and TCB files and (2) Gerber files (.grb/.art/.pho) created using Cadence, Synopsys,
Zuken, and Mentor.
Please note Gerber files import option is only available on Windows platform with the artwork license feature.
Further, to be able to import MCM/BRD files the user needs to have Cadence Allegro installed.
In this tutorial, we will show :
• How to import trace layout of a typical PCB in TCB format and solve two sample cases based on the
trace layout information.
• How to use “trace layers separately" option for better accuracy.
• How to import Gerber format layer and via files.
17.2. Prerequisites

A PCB board, library files and traces are imported to create the model. The model is solved for conduction
only, without the components and then solved using the actual components with forced convection.

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Note
Note

a. In the Project text box, enter the name trace-import.
b. Click Create.
Note
To build the model, you will first import the board layout. The board and the associated library
files have to be chosen at this step and the trace file can be imported later.
File → Import → IDF file
1. In the IDF import panel, select the board (A1.bdf ). You can keep the default project name A1, specify
the model directory using Browse and click on Next.
Note
The associated library files will be imported automatically.
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2. Select Next to see your board layout options. Keep Detail for the Import type, XY for the board
plane and Rectangular for the board shape.
Note
Since we import the trace information later, we don't need to edit the board properties at
this time.
3. Select Next to see the filtering options. Ensure Import all components is selected.
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Note
You can filter certain components at this step by their size and power information, i.e. you
can ignore the small components or the ones dissipating low power. We will import all of
the components in this tutorial.
4. Select Next to see the IDF Import panel.
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Note
If you have thin components on your board, they can be modeled as 2D sources. In this
tutorial, we would like to model all the components as rectangular blocks.
5. Select Model all components as 3d blocks will be displayed in the drop-down menu.
Note
If you click Next, you will go to the Miscellaneous options panel where you can specify
the naming and monitor options. Just keep the default options and click Finish to start
importing the files. This will take some time depending on the speed of your machine.
Note
You have learned how to import board and library files and in general you can import any
IDF file by using the procedure above.
Note
The next step in building the model is to import the trace files. A pre-built board model
named “A11", see Figure 17.1 (p. 282) will be used to demonstrate the trace file import. This
pre-built model was extracted from the previous board file (A11.brd), a number of small
components were removed and a non-conformal assembly was formed.
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Figure 17.1 A11 Board Layout
a. Unpack A11.tzr file to your desktop and name the project “A11".
Note
As mentioned earlier, the trace file (.brd, .tcb or .mcm) can either be imported during
the IDF file import or the trace layout information can be assigned to the board after
importing the IDF file.
b. Right click BOARD_OUTLINE.1 in the Model manager window and click Edit Object to display
the board object panel.
To import the trace layout, follow the procedures below.

i. Select the Properties tab and click on Traces. (Figure 17.2 (p. 283))
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Figure 17.2 Traces button
ii. Select Import .TCB file and click A1.tcb from the Trace file panel. This process may take a
few minutes depending on the speed of your computer.
iii. Once the import process is completed, you can edit the layer information in the Board layer
and via information panel (Figure 17.3 (p. 284)).
Note
The number of layers in the board will automatically be imported to ANSYS Ice-
pak and you will have to enter the thickness of each layer and the material type.
In this tutorial, the metal layers are pure Cu and the dielectric layers are FR-4.
iv. Enter the layer thickness as shown in Table 17.1: Thickness Information on the Board (Layer 1:
Top, Layer 7: Bottom layers) (p. 283) and choose 100 rows and columns.
Table 17.1 Thickness Information on the Board (Layer 1: Top, Layer 7: Bottom
layers)
Thickness (mm)
Layer 1 0.04
Layer 2 0.45364
Layer 3 0.062
Layer 4 0.467
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Layer 5 0.055
Layer 6 0.442
Layer 7 0.045
Figure 17.3 Importing Trace Layout and Editing Layer Information
v. By default, layers are lumped for each sub-grid, therefore, the Model layers separately option
is off. They can also be modeled separately which will be discussed later when the Model
layers separately option is used.
vi. Via information (e.g., material, plating thickness, filled/un-filled, via diameter etc.) is imported
automatically (Figure 17.4 (p. 285)), keep the default settings.
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Figure 17.4 Vias Information
vii. Click Accept to save your settings.
Note
The background mesh matrix (rows and columns) is used to compute the ortho-
tropic conductivity on the board. The values of k kx, ky, and kz on each cell are
determined by the local trace density and the direction. ANSYS Icepak does not
include the trace geometry in the physical model; however, the locally varying
orthotropic conductivity is mapped from the background mesh to the physical
model mesh. Once the trace file is imported and assigned to the board geometry,
the trace layers are associated with the board and are moved (in translation and/or
rotation) with the board object.
viii. Right click on the object BOARD_OUTLINE.1 and choose Traces from the menu.
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Note
You can view the traces in three different ways, i.e. single color, color by layer,
or color by trace (Figure 17.5 (p. 286)).
Figure 17.5 Displaying Traces on the Board
ix. Select color by trace and you will see the board traces as shown in Figure 17.6 (p. 287).
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Figure 17.6 Trace Layout on the PCB with the Color by trace Option
17.6. Conduction Only Model (PCB Without the Components)

Note
You will generate a mesh for each sample problem. First we will consider a board without any
components.
1. Make all objects inactive except the BOARD_OUTLINE.1 object.

2. Select the cabinet and auto scale it so that the size of the board and the cabinet will be identical.
3. Create two wall objects at the Min z and Max z sides of the cabinet.
4. Apply a constant heat flux boundary condition for the wall on the Max z side at a value of 50000
W/m2 and a fixed temperature boundary condition for the Min z side at the ambient temperature
(20°C).
Note
The rest of the sides are insulated. The board will be simulated using conduction only
model.
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5. Open the Mesh control panel and choose max X, Y, Z sizes as 5, 3, and 0.05 mm respectively, with
minimum gap being 1 mm in all three directions.
6. Click Accept “change value" checks and then click Generate mesh.

1. Since this is a conduction only model, toggle off the Flow button from the General setup tab.
Problem Setup → Basic parameters → General Setup

2. Radiation should be turned off and keep all the other values as default.
3. Select Solution settings → Basic settings and keep the default number of iterations and enter
the energy convergence criteria as 1e-12 and click Accept to close the panel.
4. Under Solution settings → Advanced settings, choose W cycle for temperature.
5. Enter 1e-6 for both the Termination criterion and Residual reduction tolerance.
6. Select Double for the solver precision.
Note
Go to Solve → Run solution or click on the shortcut button ( ). In the Options tab, start the solver by
clicking Start solution.

1. Once the model has converged, select Post → Plane cut.
2. Choose Point and normal as the set position.
3. Specify the point (PX, PY, PZ) as (0, 0, 0.78232) and the normal (NX, NY, NZ) as (0, 0, 1).
Note
The mid-plane temperature distribution shows that the high temperature regions occur at the
no-trace areas where the opposite is true for the low temperature regions, i.e. maximum trace
concentration leads to low temperatures. This is expected as the copper content is directly pro-
portional to the trace concentration. It is worth noting that if a compact or detailed PCB were
used in lieu of the traced PCB, one would obtain a fixed temperature for the entire mid-plane
and this fixed temperature would be different from the average temperature of the traced PCB
on the same plane.
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Figure 17.7 Temperature Distribution on the PCB (mid-plane)
Note
The spatially varying non-uniform conductivity of the board can also be viewed during post
processing. The conductivities in the three direction K_X, K_Y, and K_Z are available as post pro-
cessing variables with plane cuts and object faces. Figure 17.8 (p. 290) plots kx at the board mid-
plane. In the present case, since we chose not to model the layers separately there will be no
variation of the conductivities in the board-normal direction.
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Figure 17.8 K_X Distribution on the PCB (mid-plane)
17.12. PCB With the Actual Components Under Forced Convection

17.13. Step 1: Generate a mesh
1. In order to put the actual components back into the model, highlight all the components under the
Inactive folder and drag them back into the Model folder. Highlight the two wall objects created for
the “conduction only" model and drag them into the Inactive folder.
2. Click on the Cabinet and auto scale it.
3. Assign a velocity of -1.5 m/s through the opening on the Max x side of the cabinet (the minus sign
shows that the flow is in the negative x direction).
While not shown here, the trace import feature has a number of advantages on the meshing side. It
should be remembered that detailed PCB's cannot intersect non-conformal assemblies; however, there
is no such limitation for block objects. Since a PCB is represented as a block in the case of importing
traces, non-conformal assemblies can intersect it. (Depending on the number of internal layers and
thicknesses, detailed PCB objects may produce a large mesh count due to a high number of cells in
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the board-normal direction possibly with a number of slender (high aspect ratio) cells, which reduces
the mesh quality).
4. Open the Mesh control panel and choose X, Y, Z sizes as 9.5, 7, and 0.7 mm respectively.
5. Click on Accept “change value" checks and click Generate Mesh.

1. Since we have forced convection, toggle on the Flow button and choose turbulent for the flow regime
in the General Setup panel.
Problem Setup → Basic parameters → General Setup

2. Select Solve → Settings → Basic
The number of iterations should be set to 200 and click Accept to close the panel. Keep the advanced
settings as of the previous case.

Click Solve → Run Solution to display the Solve panel. Enter a different solution id for the forced convection
model (i.e., A11-conv). Under the Advanced tab and click Enable sequential solution of flow and energy
equations and start the solution.

To display contours of temperature on the board, follow the procedures below.
1. Once the model has converged, select Post → Object Face and choose Max z side of the
BOARD_OUTLINE.1 object.
2. Turn on the show contours and click on Parameters button.
3. Keep the default selection of Temperature.
4. For Color levels, select This object from the drop-down list.
Note
This will show the temperature distribution at the top of the surface of the board (Figure
17.9 (p. 292)). Two hot spots are identified underneath the high heat flux components.
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Figure 17.9 Top Surface Temperature Distribution: PCB With Imported Traces (100 x 100)
in Forced Convection
17.17. Using the Model Layers Separately Option
Note
Next we revisit the conduction only model with the difference being that this time all the metal
layers are modeled separately and not lumped together in the thickness direction.
1. Go to the Post menu and click on Load solution ID.
Post → Load solution ID

2. Select the solution ID corresponding to the model which has just the PCB without any components.
3. Display the Edit layers panel as discussed earlier and check the Model layers separately box.
Note
The Model layers separately option automatically creates contact resistance plates in the
plane of the board at the start and end locations of each metal layer. These dummy plates
have zero thermal resistance and their sole purpose is to ensure proper mesh resolution
within the board. Figure 17.10 (p. 293) shows the plates created for the tracing layers on this
board.
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17.18. Importing Gerber Files
Note
To model each of the layers separately we need to ensure that there is at least one cell
across each of the metal and dielectric layers at the correct locations in the board-normal
direction.
Figure 17.10 Contact Resistance Plates for Meshing the Individual Layers Separately
Now the model can be meshed again (same mesh settings as earlier) and solved with the exact same
boundary conditions. The temperature distribution and conductivity profiles on the board can be
viewed again during post processing to examine the effect of modeling the layers separately as com-
pared to the previous case.
17.18. Importing Gerber Files

As mentioned earlier, this option is only available for Windows and you will need an add-on Gerber import
license feature. In this section, we will just discuss the procedure to import Trace layers and via files. Editing
layers and simulation procedure will be the same for both the Gerber and BRD/TCB format files and will not
be repeated here.
1. Open a new ANSYS Icepak session and unpack the file A11.tzr.
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2. Right click on the object “BOARD_OUTLINE.1", follow the steps below, and select Edit Object from the
menu.
• Under the Properties tab, click on the Traces button to display the Traces panel.
• Click on Import Gerber files in the Traces panel to display the Import Gerber files panel.
Figure 17.11 The Import Gerber Files Panel
a. Click the Browse button in the Metal Layer Gerber Files panel to display the Metal layer
file dialog.
b. Select a file or hold down the CTRL or SHIFT key to select BOTTOM.art, INT1.art,
INT2.art, TOP.art and click Open to import files.
c. To change the order of Gerber files, use the up (Up) and down (Dn) buttons or to delete a
file, select Delete. Put the files in the order as shown in Figure 17.11 (p. 294).
d. Click the Browse button in the Via Files panel and select file V14.art. Define start layer as
1 and end layer as 4. (This is to define the starting and ending layers that those vias connect.)
e. Select Accept to import the files.
Once the import process is completed, you can edit the layer information and do the necessary simu-
lation following the procedure outlined when importing traces using a TCB file. You may continue
from step iii and edit the layers as shown in Table 17.1: Thickness Information on the Board (Layer 1: Top,
Layer 7: Bottom layers) (p. 283).
17.19. Summary
In this tutorial, you imported the board layout and trace files. Then you simulated the board using a conduc-
tion only model. Post-processing of this model, resulted in high temperature regions occurring at the no-
trace areas and the opposite for the low temperature regions. Next, the components were put back into the
model and simulated under forced convection.
17.20. Additional Exercise I

Using this model, you can determine the joule/trace heating of the imported traces. This problem is described
in Tutorial Chapter 18, Joule/Trace Heating (p. 297).
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17.21. Additional Exercise II
17.21. Additional Exercise II

You can change the number of rows and columns to 7 x 7, 30 x 30 and 500 x 500 and rerun the model. The
results will almost be identical in the case of the last two arrangements. As another case study, the
BOARD_OUTLINE.1 object can also be replaced with a detailed PCB object with the same dimensions and
the results can be compared.
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Joule/Trace Heating
18.1. Introduction
In Tutorial Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards (p. 277), you learned how to import a trace
layout of a typical PCB using TCB format and also learned how to model the trace layers separately for better
modeling accuracy. In this tutorial, you will learn how to model resistive heating or joule heating of the
imported traces in the PCB.
Since PCB traces have electrical resistance, they will heat up as current flows through them. Modeling this
phenomenon will provide us with an accurate prediction of the temperature distribution in the PCB, which
can be important in evaluating the cooling system performance for example.
18.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have completed Tutorial Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit
Boards (p. 277) of this guide. This same model is used to determine the joule/trace heating capability in ANSYS
Icepak.

The model in Tutorial Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards (p. 277) contains imported traces
and will be used in this tutorial. You will determine the joule/trace heating capacity of the traces.

Note
2. Click Unpack in the New/existing panel to start a new ANSYS Icepak project.
Note
The Open project panel will appear.
3. In the File Selection panel, select the packed project file joule-heating.tzr and click Open.
like to place the packed project file, enter a project name in the New Project text field and click Unpack.
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Joule/Trace Heating
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. Since the traces are already imported in the model, you will
work directly on the Joule heating capability in ANSYS Icepak. Ensure you have loaded the forced
convection solution with the actual components before starting this tutorial.
1. Select BOARD_OUTLINE.1 from the Model node and open the object edit panel.
2. In the Properties tab, click on the Traces button.
3. In the Traces panel, click on Trace heating to display the Trace heating panel.
Note
The Trace heating panel lists the traces in each layer in order of descending area, see Figure
18.1 (p. 298).
Figure 18.1 Trace Heating Panel Selection and Options
4. In the drop-down list under Layers, select INT1_3. The list below Traces shows available traces. You
can filter the traces to view by setting a cut off minimum trace area (the default in ANSYS Icepak is
20% of the maximum area) and clicking the Filter button. In this example, use a Minimum trace area
of 17890 mm2, this will only show the significant traces. Try reducing the minimum trace area to 1000
mm2 and check how many traces appear. We are interested in the second largest trace, trace 1_1724.
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5. Before you create a solid trace of Trace 1_1724, you need to modify the Max trace angle and the
Min trace length through which you can ignore the fine details in the trace geometry and will con-
sequently reduce the mesh count. If not already selected, select the trace, Trace 1_1724. Set the
Mesh trace angle to 135 and the Min trace length to 1.0 mm.
Note
We are interested in the thermal performance of the trace, the minor details that will increase
the mesh count significantly and have minimal effect on the thermal performance of the
trace need to be ignored. This can be controlled using the Max trace angle and Min trace
length.
6. Click on the Create solid trace button. ANSYS Icepak will create a polygonal solid block named “
BOARD_OUTLINE.layer-3-trace-1_1724.1" that contains the trace information. (The name
can be different in your case.) Click Done and close the Trace heating panel, Traces panel and the
Blocks panel.
7. Select the polygonal trace from the Model tree and open the edit object panel. In the Geometry tab,
check to ensure the solid material properties are correct for the trace. The Properties tab of the trace
Materials panel should look like Figure 18.2 (p. 299). Also, check that there are 50-60 vertices for the
trace in the Geometry tab of the trace Blocks panel, Figure 18.3 (p. 300).
Figure 18.2 Trace Materials Panel Properties Tab
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Joule/Trace Heating
Note
Current conservation needs to be manually inspected by the user.
Figure 18.3 Polygonal Trace Block
8. In order to activate Joule heating of the trace, select Joule in the Properties tab, Figure 18.4 (p. 301).
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Figure 18.4 Current Specification for the Trace Block
9. Click on the edit button for the Joule option and set side 1 as the current entry and side 43 as the
current exit with current = 25 Amp. Note the current entry side takes a positive sign and a negative
sign for current exit side. The side numbers are estimates as they may be slightly different for each
model. See Figure 18.5 (p. 302).
Note
To display the numbers associated with the vertices, click .
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Joule/Trace Heating
Figure 18.5 Entry and Exit Sides for the Trace Block

1. Create a non-conformal assembly for the trace. Set the slack values as shown in Figure 18.6 (p. 303).
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Figure 18.6 Mesh Settings for the Trace Board
2. In the Mesh control panel keep the global settings for max X, max Y and max Z as 9, 5, and 0.75 mm,
respectively and set the min gap as 0.75, 0.45, and 0.035 mm for x, y, and z, respectively.
3. Generate the mesh.
4. Check the mesh distribution on the trace and overall.

1. Make sure that a velocity of -1.5 m/s is assigned through the opening on the Max X side of the cabinet.
2. Since this is a forced convection problem, ensure that the Flow button is toggled on and that Turbulent
modeling is selected in the Basic parameters panel.
3. Set the convergence criteria as 0.001 for flow and 1e-9 for energy equations under Solve → Settings
→ Basic.
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Joule/Trace Heating

to save the model (including the mesh) yourself as well.
File → Save Project

1. Click Solve → Run Solution. Under the Advanced tab click Enable sequential solution of flow and
energy equations.
2. Click Start solution. Convergence should be reached in about 120 iterations.

1. Once the model has converged, select Post → Object face.
2. Select the trace and show the temperature contours. Observe the trend of the temperature contour
and how it varies from one side to other, Figure 18.7 (p. 305).
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Figure 18.7 Trace Temperature Contours with Forced Convection
3. Now plot the electric potential of the same trace, Figure 18.8 (p. 306). Do you observe any similarity
between the temperature and the electric potential contours? The temperature contours are closely
related to the electric potential contours, which is a direct result of joule heating of the trace.
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Joule/Trace Heating
Figure 18.8 Trace Electric Potential Contours with Forced Convection
4. Compare the maximum temperature for the cases with and without trace modeling.

Tutorial Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards (p. 277) is utilized to model the joule heating
capability of a trace.
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Microelectronics packages - Compact models
19.1. Introduction
This tutorial is a case study of a board design. A card supplier is making two package type changes to an
existing commercial board. The objective of the thermal simulation project is to see if the selected new
packages are likely to function without overheating. In the event of over heating, what kind of thermal
management should be recommended?
• Perform a board level simulation with appropriate package models.

• Determine if the selected new packages can function without overheating.
19.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have worked on the sample session in the User's Guide and the first two
ANSYS Icepak tutorials of this guide.

A designer is to select packages for a new design at the drawing board level. Available information about
the board and packages is given. Determine cooling solutions in the event there is overheating.
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1. Copy the file
ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/compact-package/compact-package-modeling.tzr to your

working directory. You must replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS
Icepak is installed on your computer system.
4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file compact-package-modeling.tzr and
click Open.
like to place the packed project file, enter a project name (i.e., compact-package-modeling-b) in the
New project text field then click Unpack.
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Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. ANSYS Icepak will display the model in the graphics window
as shown in Figure 19.2 (p. 309). Available information about the board and packages is shown in
Table 19.1: Available Details for Objects in the Model (p. 309).
Figure 19.2 Layout of the board to be analyzed
Table 19.1 Available Details for Objects in the Model

Object # of Occur- Available information Power (w)
rences in
model
PCB 1 1.6 mm thick, FR4 Material, six 1 oz. lay-
ers of Copper, 30% coverage for all lay-
ers
Heat Spreader for TO-220 pack- 3 Extruded Aluminum
ages
TO-220 Packages 9 1.5
= 2.5° C/W
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Object # of Occur- Available information Power (w)

rences in
model
DIP 6 None 0.5
400 BGA (new package type to 6 See Table 19.2: Available Information for 2.0
the existing board) 400 PBGA
232 PQFP (new package type to 2 232 leads, 40 mm X 40 mm Footprint, 2 3.5
the existing board) mm height
Note
An ounce of Copper is actually the thickness of 1 ounce/sq.ft of plane copper sheet. Using copper
density this translates to a thickness of 0.035 mm.
Table 19.2 Available Information for 400 PBGA

Feature Size (mm) Material/Conductivity Other info Where to input
(W/mK) this info?
Overall 26 x 26 x 2.15 Dimensions
package menu
Mold 0.8 Die/Mold menu
compound
Die 18 x 18 x 0.4 Silicon Die/Mold menu
material
Die Flag 18 x 18 x 0.035 80.0 (effective) Die/Mold menu
(equivalent)
Die Attach 0.05 mm thick Not mentioned Die/Mold menu
Substrate 0.4 mm thick FR4 Substrate menu
Substrate 0.035 mm thick Copper 4 layers, top and Substrate menu
traces bottom 30% coverage
intermediate layers are
100% (plane layers)
Vias Unknown Not mentioned Number of vias Substrate menu
unknown (use 0 for vias)
Solder Balls Standard Solder 20 x 20 count, full array Solder menu
Wire Bonds Not mentioned Usually Gold Die/Mold menu
• Create the PCB
Create a PCB object by clicking on the Create Printed Circuit Boards icon . Then edit the PCB by
clicking the PCB object edit icon ( ). Enter the following coordinates:
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Object Name Shape/Type/Plane Global Coordinates (m) Other properties

type
XS— YS— ZS— XE— YE—
ZE
PCB pcb.1 XZ 0.0 — 0.0 — 0.0— 0.25— See Table 19.1: Available
NA— 0.2 Details for Objects in the
Model
– Go to the Properties tab. Enter the PCB thickness of 1.6 mm for “ Substrate thickness".
– Toggle on Fix Values and change the default unit from micron to Cu-oz/ft2 for high and low surface
thickness and for internal layer thickness under Tracing layers section.
– Material information for the PCB is in Table 19.1: Available Details for Objects in the Model (p. 309). This
information can be entered for the selected PCB object as shown in Figure 19.3 (p. 312).
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Figure 19.3 PCB Edit Form with input based on PCB information in the Table with
Model Object Details above
Now, you should see the PCB object overlapping the block called PCB. There is no more need for
this block.
Note
You recreated the PCB object geometry using coordinates of the imported PCB block.
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– Deactivate the block named “PCB".
Heat spreader for TO-220 devices
Since default solid material happens to be extruded aluminum, all three spreaders should have come
into the model with correct material specification. Check this information by editing the objects.
Modeling Packages
This model has four different types of objects. Based on available information and our objectives, we
shall use different compact package modeling capabilities in ANSYS Icepak.
TO220 Type Packages

• There are 9 TO-220 device blocks. Select them all at once by drawing a “window" with shift+left mouse
(see Figure 19.4 (p. 313)). Press Shift-I for an isometric view.
Figure 19.4 Window Selecting Multiple Objects for Simultaneous Edit
• You should see all TO-220 devices highlighted in the tree. Please note that only TO-220 objects should
be selected. If you see other objects highlighted, please reselect. You can simultaneously edit all of
them at once by clicking your right mouse on any one of the selected TO-220 objects in the tree.
– Select Network under block type.
– Select Two Resistor under type.
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– In order to assign the resistance, we need to identify a reference side. This is the purpose of “board
side" input. We want the resistance to be applied from Junction to the side in contact with the
spreader (Max Z side). We can accomplish this in two ways:
→ Designate Min Z side as the Board side and assign the supplier provided resistance value (2.5
C/W from Table 19.1: Available Details for Objects in the Model (p. 309)) to Rjc.
OR
→ Designate Max Z side as the Board side and assign the supplier provided resistance value to
Rjb.
– Input 1.5 W for Junction power.
Click Done to finish operation. You should see all TO-220 blocks turning to resistance type. See Figure
19.5 (p. 315) for inputs to edit frame.
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Figure 19.5 Objects Edit Form
DIP type packages

– As we did before for the TO_220s, edit the DIPs by right clicking one of the simultaneously selected
DIP block objects in the tree.
– Use default solid material (any material will work, since we are not interested in DIP temperature).
– Input 0.5 W power in the Total Power field.
– Click Done
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Note
Dip is the package type for which we have the least information. So we are left with two
options:
→ Try to get information from supplier.
OR
→ Perform a tentative simulation with available information. The options are considered
along with the following facts:
• The DIPs constitute a lower heat flux than the other components in the board.
• This is an existing design in which the DIPs have been known to run well below
their specified temperature even at max power.
Based on the above reasoning, it is easier to perform tentative simulation with the available
power information. Note, in this context the purpose of DIP package modeling is appro-
priate accounting of air and PCB heating due to flow over the DIPs. Accurate prediction
of DIP temperature is not an objective.
PQFP package modeling
Internal details are unavailable for the PQFP type package. But based on the exterior details such as
lead count, foot print size, and package height information, it is possible to construct a compact model
of a typical package for screening analysis.
• Expand Libraries by click into + sign left to it in the tree menu. Then select “ Libraries" item. Right
click to select “ Search packages". (Note: A package may also be created using either IC package macros
or package object.)
• In the Search package library window enter all known information about the package (such as package
type, lead count, package footprint etc.,) as search criteria. Clicking the Search button should return 1
a few of the closest matching packages from the library. Pick the package that is most similar in descrip-
tion to the 232-lead PQFP information available and select Create. Figure 19.6 (p. 317) depicts the
package search procedure.
1
If search does not return a relevant package, click on the package object icon to create a new package object. After entering the
few known information, you may enter reasonable values or defaults for the remaining parameters.
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Figure 19.6 Package Search Procedure
• Edit the package object created. Make sure the Package type is QFP.
• The Model type is Compact Conduction Model (CCM).
Note
CCM is a compact model based on geometric simplifications that still preserve the original
heat transfer pathways of the package. It has been demonstrated 2 that CCM are fairly accurate
and boundary condition independent. Other options under Model type are:
– To model package in full detail. This option is meant for package level modeling. Using
this in board or system design will unduly complicate the simulation.
– To characterize Junction-to-case and Junction-to-board network resistances for two res-
istance compact model. We will be doing this for the PBGA package.
• Symmetry is Full. Package thickness is 2.0 mm.
2
Karimanal, K.V. and Refai-Ahmed, G., “Validation of Compact Conduction Models of BGA Under An Expanded Boundary Condition
Set", Proceedings of the ITHERM 2002, May 2002, San Diego, Ca, USA.
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• Select the Die/Mold tab. (The Substrate and Solder tabs show blank interface since QFP type packages
do not have solder or substrate). Enter 3.5 W for Power.
• Use all other defaults under Die/Mold tab. Click Done.
• The package thus created is in an arbitrary location. You may use align-face centers icon to position
the base center of the created package object with that of the “232PQFP" block.
• There is no more need for the 232PQFP block. Deactivate it.
• There is another “232PQFP" block (232PQFP.1). Create a copy of the first package object and align with
the remaining “232PQFP" block. Then, deactivate the second “232PQFP" block (232PQFP.1).
PBGA package modeling
We have fairly comprehensive information about the PBGA type package from the supplier (see
Table 19.2: Available Information for 400 PBGA (p. 310)). Using this information we can construct a CCM
or characterize to determine Θjc and Θjb to model it as a 2-resistor network model. The procedure to
determine resistance values for a 2-resistor model is described in another tutorial exercise (Microelec-
tronic Package Characterization - Detailed Model).
• Select all the blocks named 400-PBGA. By right mouse button clicking on any of the selected blocks,
you can edit all of them simultaneously.
• Select Network and Two Resistor options.
• The board side is the Min Y side of the blocks.
• Input estimated Θjc (1.4 C/W) and Θjb (6.75 C/W) values in the Rjc and Rjb fields respectively. Junction
power is 2.0 W.
• Click Done to finish.
• Edit the cabinet. Under Properties tab, you have the option to define the boundary condition (Wall
type) for each side of the cabinet. Define Min X and max X sides as Opening.
• By editing the Min X side, assign X velocity = 1 m/s for the min X side opening. Click Done to close
the opening edit window.
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• The Max X side opening should have the default settings (free opening).
• All other cabinet boundaries should be Default.
• Click Done in the Cabinet edit window to confirm changes.
• You should see the openings on the min and max X sides of the cabinet.

• Click the mesh icon .
• Select Hexa Unstructured for Mesh Type and Normal for Mesh parameters (Defaults).
• Toggle on Accept “change value" checks.
• Click Generate mesh.
• Use mesh viewing tools to evaluate your mesh.
• (optional) Create non-conformal assemblies around each package set to reduce the mesh count. As a
start, use 3 mm slack values for all sides of each assembly. Resize the assemblies if required. Without
non-conformal assemblies, the number of elements is 161000. It is possible to reduce this number by
more than half! Display and compare the conformal and non-conformal meshes.

Let us solve the board model with a 1 m/s inlet velocity.
• Expand Problem setup branch in the tree and select Basic parameters and then set the Flow regime
to Turbulent under General setup.
• Expand the Solutions settings branch. Open the Basic settings panel. Click Reset on the Basic settings
panel. Then open the Advanced solver setup panel. Note that in the Advanced solver setup panel,
under the Linear solver, the solver inputs for temperature have changed. It is advisable to always click
the reset button in the Basic settings panel before starting the solver. Set the number of iterations to
200 in the Basic settings panel.


• Define point monitors of temperature for 232-Lead_PQFP package, DIP, TO-220 and 400-PBGA1 objects.
A point monitor will be created to monitor the temperature change with iterations (Figure 19.7 (p. 320)).
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Figure 19.7 Monitor Point Definition
Go to Solve → Run solution and switch on the Enable sequential solve of flow and energy equations
option under the Advanced tab. Click Start solution.
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First we would like to get an idea of the general temperature distribution pattern on the board.
• Create object face contours of the PCB by clicking the Object face icon( ).
– Probe temperatures values at desired location after clicking on probe icon ( ).

– Note the higher temperatures in the parts of the PCB under the PQFP packages.
• Click on Report main menu and select Network block values. Message window will list all network
block temperatures. Network junction temperatures can also be obtained from the overview report.
• The closeness of the PBGAs to each other is a cause for their overheating. How much is the problem
due to the temperature of the air approaching these components?
– A picture of the thermal boundary layer over the PBGAs can be seen by taking XY cut plane of
temperature contours over the PBGA blocks.
• What is the cause for the somewhat high temperatures of the TO-220 devices?
– Are the heat spreaders too close? If so, the air flowing between the spreaders will overheat preventing
further heat dissipation to the air. You can find out if this is the case by creating XZ cut planes of
vectors and contours that cut across the spreader blocks.
• The highest temperatures are in the 400-PBGA blocks. Effective cooling solutions can be designed by
understanding heat flow pathways.
– Generate a summary report of heat flow for selected 400-PBGA blocks. By deactivating the button
under Comb in the summary report panel, you can generate an itemization of heat flow through
each of the sides of the object.

In this tutorial, you performed a board level simulation and determined cooling solutions in the event there
is overheating.

Post-processing showed that the components of 400-PBGA are the most critical object since they are the
hottest. Here are some cooling ideas to set up and perform ANSYS Icepak simulations:
What if...
1. The flow is in the negative X direction?

2. The flow is in the negative X direction, and by judicious use of flow resistances, more flow if diverted
toward the PBGAs (for the same overall flow rate)?
3. The bottom side of the PCB is not dissipating any heat as a result of lying on domain boundary. On
the other hand, there seem to be plenty of space above the board. The main reason for the headroom
above the PCB is the height of the spreader blocks. While there is room to move up the spreader by
a little bit, more room can be gained if the spreader is longer in the X direction but shorter in Y height.
What if both sides of the PCB are exposed to airflow by moving it up?
4. A heatsink is mounted on the PBGA blocks? Will it be possible to use on heatsink in contact with all
PBGAs? Are there any practical issues?
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Multi-Level Meshing
20.1. Objective
The objective of this exercise is to provide a means to improving the mesh resolution and optimizing the
mesh count of a model consisting of CAD objects using the multi-level meshing technique. The procedure
from this exercise should help you make appropriate modeling and meshing choices during your thermal
modeling project.
20.2. Prerequisites
The trainee should be familiar with:
• ANSYS Icepak modeling objects

• Basics of meshing
20.3. Skills Covered

• Basic meshing techniques
• Multi-level meshing
• Uniform mesh parameters option
20.4. Training Method Used

A model with potential for improvement is provided. Then, an approach for improving the model is
presented. Feel free to explore the software interface, collaborate with another trainee, or ask a Technical
Services Engineer.
20.5. Loading the Model

• Unpack and load the model named “HangingNode.tzr"
• Rename it to any other name of your choice.

Without making any changes, the model results in about 654000 finite volume cells. Please note that this
mesh count has been obtained making use of the non-conformal meshing technique that allows for localized
fine meshing, thus eliminating mesh bleeding. However, this mesh does not fully resolve the fine-level
geometric features of the CAD objects. It is possible to further reduce the mesh count and improve mesh
resolution on and around the CAD objects using the multi-level meshing technique. This procedure starts
with a coarse background mesh and resolves fine level features through a series of successive mesh refine-
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Multi-Level Meshing
ments. It is possible to reduce the mesh count to approximately 500000 and improve mesh resolution at
the same time using this technique along with the uniform mesh parameters option.
• Generate mesh without modifying the model. You will see a mesh count of about 654,000 cells.
Note
The mesh count may differ slightly on different machines.
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Figure 20.1 Mesh of Flow Guide Without Multi-Level Meshing
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Multi-Level Meshing
Figure 20.2 Mesh Without Multi-Level Meshing
20.7. Modification 1: Multi-Level Meshing of the Fan_Guide

• In the Meshing tab of the fan_guide.1 assembly, retain the slack and minimum gap values. However,
change the Mesh type values to 6.0 mm.
• Toggle on Allow multi-level meshing and set Max Levels to 3.
• Keep the default selection of Proximity and Curvature.
• Toggle on Set uniform mesh params.
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20.8. Modification 2: Multi-Level Mesh of the Sheetmetal_hs_assy.1
20.8. Modification 2: Multi-Level Mesh of the Sheetmetal_hs_assy.1

• In the Meshing tab of the Sheetmetal_hs_assy.1, retain the slack and minimum gap values.
However, change the Mesh type values to 3.5 mm.
• Toggle on Allow multi-level meshing and set Max Levels to 2.
• Keep the default selection of Proximity and Curvature.
• Enter a value of 1 for Mesh buffer layers.
• Toggle on Set uniform mesh params.
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Multi-Level Meshing
20.9. Generate a Mesh

• Generate a mesh with the modifications using the same settings as before.
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20.9. Generate a Mesh
• Observe the decrease in element count.

• Display the mesh of the FLOW_GUIDE and the sheetmetal_hs_assy.1.
Figure 20.3 (p. 330) shows the surface mesh on the flow_guide. Fine mesh resolution in some regions is
necessary for a body fitted mesh. This can be clearly seen in the figure. In addition, it can be observed
that the mesh resolution is coarser in regions where a fine resolution is not necessary to describe the
geometry accurately.
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Multi-Level Meshing
Figure 20.4 (p. 331) shows the mesh on and around the sheetmetal heatsink. It can be seen that the
mesh resolution is fine in the fin region and coarser as we move away from the heatsink.
Figure 20.3 Flow_Guide Mesh
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20.10. Conclusion
Figure 20.4 Sheetmetal Heatsink Mesh
20.10. Conclusion
Using multi-level meshing, we were able to improve the mesh resolution and instantly transition to coarser
meshes thus reducing the overall mesh count. Hence, this approach significantly reduces run time while
enhancing the accuracy of the simulation.
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Characterizing a BGA-package by Utilizing ECAD Files
21.1. Introduction
In Tutorials Chapter 17, Trace Layer Import for Printed Circuit Boards (p. 277) and Chapter 18, Joule/Trace Heat-
ing (p. 297) you learned how to import trace layouts for a PCB. In this tutorial, you will learn how to import
trace layouts on a BGA package substrate by using TCB files.
• Import trace layout of a BGA package substrate in TCB format.

• Display traces using the Color by trace option.
• Plot temperature contours on the wirebonds.
• Determine junction-to-case resistance for the package.
21.2. Prerequisites
or read Tutorial Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) of this guide.

In this tutorial, you will see how to determine temperature profiles on the wirebonds of a BGA package and
junction-to-case resistance.

3. Specify a name for you project (i.e., BGA-package) and click Create.
Note
To build the model, you will change the units, create the PCB, import the traces and resize the
cabinet to its proper size. Then you will create a wall object.
1. Change the unit of length to mm.
Edit → Preferences
a. In the Preferences panel, click on Units, under the Defaults node. In the Category box, scroll
down and select Length and under Units, select mm.
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b. Click Set as default, Set all to defaults and click on This project.
2. Create the package object.
a. Click on the packages object button ( ) in the objects toolbar.

b. In the Packages object panel, click the Dimensions tab, and click the Import TCB button.
Figure 21.1 The Packages Panel (Dimensions Tab)
c. Select block_1.tcb in the Trace file panel and click Open.
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d. Keep the numbers for the layers and vias and click Accept in the Board layer and via information
panel.
e. Click on the Die/Mold tab, assign the die power as 0.5 W.
f. Click Done.
Note
ANSYS Icepak will give you a warning that the package object lies outside the cabinet.
g. Click on Resize cabinet.

h. Click on the Cabinet in the object tree and click the Autoscale button located in the edit window
in the lower right corner of the main menu.
Note
Click the Scale to fit icon ( ) to adjust the overall size of your model.
i. Right click on the package object in the object tree, choose Traces → Color by trace to display
the traces.
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Figure 21.2 Display of Traces
As can be seen in Figure 21.2 (p. 336), the wirebonds are lumped into polygonal plates by ANSYS
Icepak.
j. Change the cabinet zS to -1.2 mm
k. Create a PCB (compact) object in the x-y plane with the following dimensions:
xS -7.03 mm xE 7.03 mm
yS -7.03 mm yE 7.03 mm
zS -1.2 mm zE —
Edit the PCB object and under the Properties tab choose the substrate thickness as 0.8 mm, then
enter the following Cu percentages for the layers:
336 Published: 2010-08-03
Figure 21.3 Properties Tab of the Printed Circuit Boards Panel
Click on Update. Note that the thermal conductivity information (in-plane and normal) for the
PCB is updated.
l. Create a wall object and align it with the min-z side of the cabinet and rename it as Bottom. Edit
the wall object and insulate it by keeping the outside heat flux zero under the Properties tab.
m. Make a copy of the wall and translate it in the z direction by 2.95 mm and rename the new wall
to Top.
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We would like to determine the heat transfer coefficient on the top surface with the well-known
correlation in the literature, (Incropera et. al 1). In order to do that, you can follow the procedure
in Figure 21.4 (p. 338).
Figure 21.4 Determining Heat Transfer Coefficient on the Top Wall

• Click the mesh icon .
• In the Mesh panel, use 0.5 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.14 mm for the max x, max y and max z sizes, respectively.
Change the min gap numbers to 0.05 mm, 0.05 and 0.01 mm for the x, y and z direction, respectively.
Click on Accept “change value" checks.
• Click Generate mesh.
1
Frank Incropera and David DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1981.
338 Published: 2010-08-03
Figure 21.5 Mesh control Panel

• Expand the Problem setup branch in the tree and select Basic parameters and then clear Flow under
the General setup tab.
• Turn off the radiation and click Accept to close the panel.
Published: 2010-08-03 339
• Expand the Solutions settings branch. Open the Basic settings panel. Change the Number of iterations
to 25 and the Convergence criteria for Energy to 1e-15. Click Accept.
• Select Advanced settings under the Solutions settings branch. In the Advanced solver setup panel
and choose the multigrid Type for temperature as W. Choose the Termination criterion and Residual
reduction tolerance as 1e-6. In the Precision drop-down list, select Double. Click Accept to save your
settings.


Go to Solve → Run solution. Click Start solution.

When the model converges, go to Post → Object face and choose the wirebonds under the package object.
Figure 21.6 Object face Panel
Plot the temperatures contours on the wirebond and see the variation/symmetry of the temperature profiles.
340 Published: 2010-08-03
Figure 21.7 Temperature Contours on the Wirebonds (Top View)
Go to the Report → Summary report and click on New twice. Choose the source on the die for the
package object and the top wall and keep the variable as temperature for both. Max die and max top wall
temperatures are determined as 131.8 and 128.4°C, respectively. Note that the top wall represents the case
for the package. Therefore, junction-to-case resistance for this package is determined as:

−
= (21–1)

Where is the die power and assigned as 0.5 W. Therefore,
−
= = ° (21–2)

In this tutorial, you learned how to import trace layouts for a PCB on a BGA package substrate by using a
TCB file.
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342 Published: 2010-08-03
Zero Slack with Non-Conformal Meshing
22.1. Introduction
This tutorial compares the mesh of a non-conformal assembly with and without slack values around a heat
sink, package and board. The zero slack scenario will be solved and the number of iterations, and temperature
distribution on objects in the model will be performed.
• Use the zero slack capability in ANSYS Icepak.
22.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have reviewed the sample session in Chapter 1 of the User's Guide and Tutorials
Chapter 2, Finned Heat Sink (p. 3) and Chapter 3, RF Amplifier (p. 43) of this guide.

The model consists of a detailed heat sink, a BGA package, a block with traces and fluid blocks. The model
setup is shown in Figure 22.1 (p. 344).
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Figure 22.1 Problem Schematic
The objective of this exercise is to illustrate the advantage of using the zero slack capability. The model will
be constructed using the default metric unit system.
344 Published: 2010-08-03
22.7. Step 4: Import Traces

1. Copy the file ICEPAK_ROOT /tutorials/ZeroSlack/ZeroSlack_Tut.tzr to your working
directory. You must replace ICEPAK_ROOT by the full path name of the directory where ANSYS Icepak
is installed on your computer system.
Note
Note
4. In the File selection panel, select the packed project file ZeroSlack_Tut.tzr and click Open.
Note
like to place the unpacked project file, enter a project name (e.g.0–slack) in the New project text field
then click Unpack.
22.5. Step 2: Change Default Units

Change the unit of length from meters to mm.
Edit → Preferences
1. In the Preferences panel, click on Units under the Defaults node. In the Category box, scroll down
and select Length, and under Units, select mm.
2. Click Set all to defaults and click This project.
Note
This tutorial uses an existing model. The model contains existing package, board and heatsink
assemblies.
22.7. Step 4: Import Traces

1. In the model tree, expand the Board assembly to display the pcb object if it is not already visible. Right
click pcb in the Model manager window and click Edit Object to display the board object panel.
Published: 2010-08-03 345
2. In the Properties tab, click on the Traces button.
Note
You will need to unzip the tcb file before you can import it.
3. In the Traces panel, click on Import .TCB file and select BOARD_OUTLINE.tcb from the Trace file
panel. This process may take a few minutes depending on the speed of your computer.
4. Once the import is completed, you can edit the layer information in the Board layer and via inform-
ation panel. Enter the layer thickness as shown in the table below.
Thickness (mm)
Layer 1 0.04
Layer 2 0.45364
Layer 3 0.062
Layer 4 0.467
Layer 5 0.055
Layer 6 0.442
Layer 7 0.045
5. By default, layers are lumped for each sub-grid, therefore, the Model layers separately is off and this
option will need to be enabled.
6. Click Create/Update Meshing plates to create plates for each layer.
7. Click Accept to save your settings.
8. Via information is imported automatically, keep the default settings.
Note
You can view the traces in three different ways, i.e. single color, color by layer, or color by
trace.
Note
The meshing plates are placed at the location of the different layers; they are used to ensure
enough mesh resolution at the different layers.
9. Click Done to close the Traces and Blocks panels.
22.8. Step 5: Add Slack Values
Note
You will add slack values to the heatsink assembly.
346 Published: 2010-08-03
22.9. Step 6: Generate Mesh (with Slack Values)
Note
Non-conformal assemblies are used to reduce mesh count in models and to improve mesh
quality.
1. Set the slack values for the heat sink assembly as shown in the figure below.
22.9. Step 6: Generate Mesh (with Slack Values)
Note
You will generate a mesh for the heatsink assembly with slack values.
Published: 2010-08-03 347
1. Open the Mesh control panel. You will see the following requested values when you toggle on Object
params in the mesh control window.
Table 22.1 Object Parameters

Object type Object name Parameter Requested
block pcb X count 25
Z count 5
assembly heatsink.1 all inside ratio's 2
assembly board all inside ratio's 2
assembly package all inside ratio's 2
2. Notice Min elems in gap = 2, Min elems on edge = 1 and Max size ratio = 3.
3. Keep all other settings as default and click Generate mesh.
4. Observe the mesh count which is approximately 600000 and view a cut plane of the mesh.
Note
The package is not well resolved and it is divided between the heatsink and board assemblies.
Moreover, mesh bleeding from the meshing plates extends beyond the board because of
the slack values.
22.10. Step 7: Zero Slack
Note
Next, we will consider a board with non-conformal meshing with zero slack values.
The goal from using non-conformal assemblies with zero slack is to be able to resolve specific objects without
extending to the rest of the cabinet. Also, zero slack non-conformal assemblies do not have most of the re-
strictions regular non-conformal assemblies have. In this tutorial, the use of zero slack non-conformal assem-
blies allows us to a have a separate non-conformal assembly for the package to accurately resolve it.
1. You will change the slack values for the heat sink assembly as shown in the figure below.
348 Published: 2010-08-03
2. In addition, enable Mesh separately in the package and board assemblies.
22.11. Step 8: Generate Mesh (with Zero Slack)

Use the same mesh settings as in step 7 so that you can compare the mesh count. Observe the mesh count
which is approximately 150000.

1. In the model tree, go to Solution settings, then to Basic Settings and Advanced Settings menus,
and verify that the following values are set for each variable:
Published: 2010-08-03 349
2. Go to Problem Setup → Basic parameters menu, make sure the Flow regime is Turbulent and the
turbulence model is Zero equation under the General setup tab. Also, give a small initial (global)
velocity of –1.5 m/s in the X direction under Transient setup. Accept the changes made and exit this
window.
Note

Go to Solve → Run solution. Click Start solution.

After the solution has converged, create the following post processing objects:

cut.1 Plane location: Plane cut (x-z) view of the velocity vectors in the y plane.
Set position: Y plane through center
face.1 Object: pcb Object-face view of temperature on pcb
Parameters Note the min & max temperatures and the temperature
distribution.
Contours options:Solid fill/ Banded
Contour levels:
Level spacing: Fixed/ Number = 20
face.2 Object: pcb Objects-face showing the conductivity, K_X.
Show contours: Observation(s):
Parameters
350 Published: 2010-08-03

Contours of : K_X
Accept all default parameters

Zero slack is a new feature in ANSYS Icepak that alleviates most restrictions encountered while using the
original non-conformal assemblies. Zero slack non-conformal assemblies not only reduces mesh count further
than original non-conformal assemblies but also allows the user to mesh specific objects separately. For
example in this model, the zero slack capability allowed meshing of the package object separately.
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352 Published: 2010-08-03
ANSYS Icepak in ANSYS Workbench Tutorial
23.1. Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to create and solve an ANSYS Icepak analysis in ANSYS Workbench. You will
model a geometry using the direct CAD modeling feature in ANSYS Icepak and create a non-conformal mesh
for the complex shapes. The project will also include postprocessing the results in CFD-Post and performing
a static structural analysis.
• Create an ANSYS Icepak analysis in ANSYS Workbench.

• Solve a project and transfer to Mechanical for further analysis.
• Postprocess results in CFD Post.
23.2. Prerequisites
This tutorial assumes that you have little experience with ANSYS Workbench and so each step will be explicitly
described.

The graphics board contains a heat sink with extruded fins having aerofoil cross section, a PCB, capacitors,
memory cards and ports. These objects are placed in a setup as shown in the figure below.
Published: 2010-08-03 353
Figure 23.1 Problem Schematic

1. Start ANSYS Workbench.
Note
When ANSYS Workbench starts, the Toolbox and Project Schematic are displayed.
354 Published: 2010-08-03

1. Add a Geometry template by dragging the template from the Toolbar under the Component Systems
node into the Project Schematic. Perform a right mouse click on the Geometry cell and click Import
Geometry. Click Browse... and select graphics_card_simple.stp to load the geometry.
Note
The graphics_card_simple.stp can be found at /ICEPAK_ROOT/tutorials/Workbench.
Note
A green check mark in the Geometry cell indicates the geometry has been imported suc-
cessfully.
2. Double click on the Geometry cell to open DesignModeler, you will need to edit the geometry first
before exporting into ANSYS Icepak.
3. Select Meter as the desired length unit.
4. Click Generate to display the model.
Edit the geometry in DesignModeler using the Electronics option in the Tools menu. Select Simplify
and choose the appropriate simplification level and select bodies. In this case, select all objects with
level 2 Simplification Type and click Generate. Refer to the Design Modeler documentation for more
detailed information on using the Electronics options.
Published: 2010-08-03 355
Note
The Electronics menu is shown only if the DesignModeler option Enable Electronics Options
is turned on.
5. Drag and drop an Icepak template into the Project Schematic on top of the Geometry cell (A2) to
transfer the geometry into Icepak.
6. Right click on the Setup cell and select Edit... to launch Icepak. The CAD model appears in the
graphics display window and has been converted to Icepak objects. Click the isometric toolbar icon
( ) to display the isometric view of the model.
7. Using the object edit panel, edit the properties for the objects. To edit the properties, perform a right
mouse click on the object and select Edit object to display the object panel. Rename the objects using
the object names as shown in The Final Model Display and click the Properties tab and enter the
specifications shown below.
Table 23.1 Object Properties

Object Power Solid Material
SERIAL_PORT 0.0 default
KB 0.0 default
CAPACITOR_1 0.0 default
CAPACITOR_2 0.0 default
MEMORY_1 5 Watts Ceramic_material
MEMORY_2 5 Watts Ceramic_material
CPU 20 Watts Ceramic_material
PCB 0.0 Watts Custom- PCB solid_material
Conductivity type- Orthotropic
X = 20, Y = 0.4, Z = 20
HEAT_SINK 0.0 Watts default
Note
Edit the Solid material by selecting a material in the drop down list. To create a (Custom)
material, select Create material in the drop down list and click the Properties tab in the
Materials panel. Enter specifications.
Model → Cabinet
356 Published: 2010-08-03
In the Cabinet panel, click the Geometry tab. Under Location, enter the following coordinates:
Table 23.2 Coordinates for the Cabinet

xS = -0.19 m xE =0.03 m
yS = 0 m yE = 0.02848 m
zS = -0.11 m zE = 0 m
9. Edit the cabinet properties to specify Min x and Max x sides as openings. In the Properties tab of the
Cabinet object panel, select Opening from the drop-down menu under Wall type for Min x and Max
x. Select Edit to display the opening for the Max x object panel and specify the x velocity to be –2
m/s. Click Done to close the Openings and Cabinet panels.
10. The final model should correspond to the one shown below.
Figure 23.2 The Final Model Display
Note
For more information on how to refine a mesh locally, please refer to the ANSYS Icepak User's
Guide.
• Click the assembly toolbar icon ( ) to create an assembly. Add the heat sink and the CPU to the as-
sembly and rename it CPU_assembly.
Note
To add objects to an assembly, select one or more objects in the Model manager window
and drag them into the desired assembly node.
Published: 2010-08-03 357
• Display the CPU_assembly object panel and click the Meshing tab. Enable the Mesh separately option
and enter the following slack values. Click Done to close the panel.
Table 23.3 Slack values

Min X = 0.005 m Max X = 0.005 m
Min Y = 0.0016 m Max Y = 0 m
Min Z = 0.001 m Max Z = 0.005 m
• Specify the overall mesh controls, see the Mesh control panel below for input values.
358 Published: 2010-08-03
Note
Change units to mm.

• Problem setup → Basic parameters
Published: 2010-08-03 359
Click on Basic parameters under Problem setup in the model tree. Under General setup make sure
that both flow and the temperature fields are switched on. In addition, select Turbulent for the Flow
regime and turn Radiation Off. Click Accept to close the panel.
• Solution settings → Basic settings
In the model tree, go to Solution settings, then to Basic settings and Advanced Settings menus, and
verify that the following values are set for each variable:
Basic settings
No. of iterations = 100
Flow = 0.001
Energy = 1e-7
Advanced settings
Pressure = 0.3
Momentum = 0.7

Select the File menu and click Save As.
Note
The Save As panel will appear.
Specify the name “ice_wb” for your project and click Save.
Note
You can click the save icon ( ) in the File commands toolbar.

• Select the Solve menu and click Run Solution to display the Solve panel.
• Keep the default settings in the Solve panel.
• Click Start solution to start the solver.
Note
Icepak will begin to calculate a solution for the model, and a separate window will open
where the solver will print the numerical values of the residuals. Icepak will also open the
Solution residuals graphics display and control window, where it will display the convergence
history for the calculation. Note that the actual values of the residuals may differ slightly on
different machines, so your plot may not look exactly the same as the figure below.
360 Published: 2010-08-03
• Click Done in the Solution residuals window to close it.
Note
The postprocessing of results can be done within Icepak; however, you can examine results in
CFD-Post. This section will describe how to transfer information to CFD-Post and use its postpro-
cessing options.
Published: 2010-08-03 361
1. After calculating a solution in Icepak, a green check mark will be displayed in the Icepak solution cell
in the Project Schematic. The green check mark will be displayed in the Icepak solution cell in the
project schematic. The green check mark indicates that all data is up to date. Select Results under the
Component Systems node in the Toolbox. Drag the Results cell on top of the Icepak solution cell (B3)
to transfer the data.
2. Double click the Results cell to launch CFD-Post. The model should appear in the display window.
3. To generate contours, please do the following:
• Click the Insert menu and select Contour or click on the contour button to create a contour.
Retain the name “Contour 1” and click OK.
• In the Details section of the Geometry tab, select All Domains next to Domains.
• Next to the Locations drop down box, click on the small box to display the Locations Selector
dialog box. Highlight all CPU, PCB and HEAT_SINK objects and click OK to close the panel.
• Next to Variable, select Temperature in the drop-down list.
• Select Apply to display the contours.
4. To generate a 3D streamline, please do the following:
• Click the Insert menu and select streamline or click on the streamline button to create the
streamline. Retain the name “Streamline 1” and click OK.
• In the Details section of the Geometry tab, select 3D Streamline for Type.
• Retain All Domains for Domains.
• Select cabinet_default_side_maxx minx next to Start From.
• Retain Velocity for Variable.
• Keep all other defaults the same.
• Click Apply to display the streamline.
• In addition you can animate the streamline. To animate the streamline, click on the animation
button or select the Tools menu and click on Animation.
23.11. Step 8: Static Structural Analysis
Note
In addition to solving this problem in Icepak, you can also perform a static structural analysis.
1. Select Static Structural from the Toolbox and drag and drop this cell on top of the Icepak Solution
cell (B3).
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2. Right click on the Geometry cell (A2) and drop it on top of the Static Structural Geometry cell (D3).
The geometry is now shared.
3. Double click on the Model cell ( D4) to launch Mechanical.

4. Click on the Imported Body Temperature object. This object is found under the Imported Load
(Solution) item.
5. In the Details section, ensure Geometry Selection is selected for the Scoping Method. Click the Box
Select button , hold down the Ctrl key and drag a box around the entire model to
select it. Click Apply next to Geometry. Nine bodies should be selected.
6. Across from Icepak Body, select All.
7. Click Solve.

In this tutorial, you imported CAD objects and set up a problem. You then created a non-conformal mesh
using the hex-dominant mesher. This forced convection problem was solved for flow and heat transfer and
the results were examined on contours and 3D streamlines in the model.
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364 Published: 2010-08-03
J
Index joule heating, 297
A L
ANSYS Icepak support engineer, 2 loss coefficient
hexa-grille, 153
B
BGA package object, 169 M
BGA-package, 333 mesh exercise, 143
microelectronics, 307
C model layers separately option, 292
CAD geometry, 251 modeling
cold-plate, 105 radiation, 209
monitor point, 320
mouse conventions, 2
D multi-level meshing, 323
Dimensions tab, 334
N
E non-conformal
Edit
nested, 117
object panel, 7
non-conformal assembly, 109
non-conformal mesh, 131
F
finned heat sink, 3 O
For the beginner, 1
object parameters, 226
For the experienced user, 1
optimization run, 197
Functions
orthotropic material properties, 120
objective, 193
primary
compound, 193 P
param value, 190
parameterization, 79
G parametric runs, 175
Gerber files
parametric trials, 157
importing, 293
multiple trials, 94
H R
heat pipe, 117
radiation model
heat sink
discrete ordinates, 210
inline or staggered, 169
ray tracing, 210
heat transfer coefficient, 338
radiation models
hex-dominant, 266
surface-to-surface
how to use this manual, 1
discrete ordinates, 201
rf amplifier, 43
I
Icepak in Workbench, 353 S
IDF import, 239, 278
search fan library, 57
import
summary report, 136
tcb file, 334
individual side specification, 88
T
Thermal Resistance, 187
Published: 2010-08-03 365
Index
trace layer import, 277

transient simulation, 215
typographical conventions, 1
W
what's in this manual, 1
Workbench
Icepak, 353
Z
zero slack, 343
zoom-in modeling, 223
366 Published: 2010-08-03

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ANSYS Icepak Tutorials

ANSYS, Inc. Release 13.0

U.S. Government Rights

Published in the U.S.A.

8.7. Step-by-Step Approach ................................................................................................................. 144

12.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 201

15.6. Step 3: Component Filtration Alternatives .................................................................................... 247

19.3. Problem Description ................................................................................................................... 307

23.2. Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................... 353

1.2. How To Use This Manual

1.2.1. For the Beginner

1.2.2. For the Experienced User

1.3. Typographical Conventions Used In This Manual

• An exclamation point (!) in the margin marks an important note or warning.

Model → Generate mesh

Problem setup → Basic parameters

1.4. Mouse Conventions Used In This Manual

1.5. When To Call Your ANSYS Icepak Support Engineer

In this tutorial you will learn how to:

• Create a new project

2.3. Problem Description

Figure 2.1 Problem Specification

2.4. Step 1: Create a New Project

The New project panel will appear.

3. Specify a name for your project and click Create .

2.5. Step 2: Build the Model

1. Resize the default cabinet in the Cabinet panel.

a. In the Cabinet panel, click the Geometry tab.

c. Click Done to resize the cabinet and close the panel.

– Click the Edit icon ( ) in the model toolbar.

2. Create the backing plate.

a. Click the Create blocks button ( ) to create a new block.

b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Blocks panel.

e. Click Done to modify the block and close the panel.

a. Click the Create openings button ( ) to create a new opening.

b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Openings panel.

d. Enter the following coordinates for the opening:

e. Click Done to modify the opening and close the panel.

a. Click the Create fans button ( ) to create a new fan.

b. Click the Edit object ( ) to open the Fans panel.

f. Click the Properties tab.

i. Click Done to modify the fan and close the panel.

b. Click the Copy object button ( ).

The Copy fan fan.1 panel will open.

c. Enter 2 as the Number of copies.

6. Create the first high-power device.

a. Click the Create sources button ( ) to create a source.

b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Sources panel.

g. Click the Properties tab.

i. Click Done to modify the source and close the panel.

b. Click the Copy object button ( ).

a. Click the Create plates button ( ) to create a plate.

b. Click the Edit object button ( ) to open the Plates panel.

f. Click the Properties tab.

j. Click Done to modify the plate and close the panel.

b. Click the Copy object button ( ).

Figure 2.2 Completed Model for the Finned Heat Sink

Model → Check model

View → Summary (HTML)

2.6. Step 3: Generate a Mesh

Model → Generate mesh

1. Generate a coarse (minimum-count) mesh.

b. Set the Mesh units and Minimum gap to mm.