How my electronics should be oriented: A thermal
point of view study to understand the impact of
orientation on internal air temperature
Tejas Manohar Kesarkar
RBEI/EAX
Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, India
TejasManohar.Kesarkar@in.bosch.com
Abstract— Modern day electronics work in varied thermal
conditions. The increase in demand of electronics, has led to
miniaturization, use of plastic housing and more applications from
the existing electronics in the market.
The model for analysis consists of multi-layered Cu-FR4
Printed Circuit Board (PCB) with a power dissipation of 10 W
(Volumetric distribution in PCB). The PCB is further enclosed in
a housing. Representative internal air temperatures are estimated
for evaluating thermal performance of housing in different studies.
The dimensions of housings used for these studies are similar to
that of typical automotive electronics.
In the first study, an evaluation is carried out to understand the
effect of orientation of metallic electronic housings w.r.t. incident
airflow. Metallic housings are usually provided with heatsink and
fins and the same are considered in our model. It is observed that
the internal air temperature of the housing is minimum when the
airflow is aligned in the direction of length of fins. It is also
observed that an equally favorable orientation is when the airflow
is directed on top of fins.
Another study is done to evaluate the effect of orientation of
metallic and plastic housings w.r.t. gravity in case of natural
convection airflow. Unlike metallic housing, plastic housings are
usually devoid of fins and heatsinks. For both metallic and plastic
housings, it is observed that the internal air temperature is
minimum when the plane of the housing is vertical. Moreover, for
metallic housings best orientation is when fins are aligned
vertically.
In addition, a study to evaluate the effect of orientation of
plastic housing w.r.t. incoming solar radiation in case of natural
convection airflow is done. It is observed that internal air
temperature is minimum when the plane of the housing is vertical.
All these observations are made from steady state thermal
simulations carried out using FloTHERMTM. The ambient is
considered to be similar to any electronics mounted in an
automotive. In addition, all the three modes of heat transfer i.e.
conduction, convection and radiation are considered.
This study will help forming guidelines for any design engineer,
who wishes to choose an optimum orientation of housing, taking
into account thermal performance of electronics.
Keywords— Electronics cooling, Mounting Orientation,
Thermal Analysis, Thermal Management, ECU, Thermal
Optimization, FloTHERM

ª
*&&&
Nitesh Kumar Sardana
RBEI/EAX
Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, India
Niteshkumar.Sardana@in.bosch.com
NOMENCLATURE
T Temperature, °C
ΔT Temperature difference, °C
Rth Thermal resistance, K/W
Rc-r Ratio of heat transfer by convection to heat transfer by
radiation from electronic housing to ambient air
Q Total heat generation in ECU, W
SUBSCRIPTS
i Internal air of electronic housing
a Ambient air around electronic housing
i-a Between internal air and ambient air
I. INTRODUCTION
Use of electronics is on the rise, especially in modern day
automobiles. In general, the functionality of electronics has
increased, posing challenges for the thermal management of
electronics [1]. To make the electronics more reliable it is crucial
to minimize the internal air temperatures of these electronic
housings. Operating temperature usually has the highest impact
on electronic component life and reliability – the rule of thumb
in electronic product design is that every 10 °C rise in
temperature decreases the average life by 50 percent. During
development phase, designers may be poised with different
options for mounting of the electronic housings. The study done
in this paper will help setup guidelines that would allow a design
engineer to choose an optimum orientation of housing in order
to minimize internal air temperature of the same.
II. MODELING DETAILS
A. Product details
The product considered for analysis is an Electronic Control
Unit (ECU) used in automobiles to control various systems.
These ECUs have either metallic or plastic housings. Housing
consists of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and heat dissipating
components over it [2]. The PCB is further provided with
connectors for external communication. Typically, metallic
variants of the housing are provided with heatsinks. Each
heatsink is in contact with PCB via a layer of Thermal Interface
Material. This assists in heat transfer from PCB to external
ambient by provision of a direct conduction path. On the outer
surface of these heatsinks, fins are provided to increase exposed
area of the housing. This increase in exposed area will result in
lower convective and radiative thermal resistance of the housing.
Plastic variants of the housing lack heatsinks and fins because of
poor thermal conductivity of plastic.
B. Simulation model
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1 Simulation model: (a) Metallic housing with heatsink and fins
(b) Plastic housing
Steady state thermal simulations were carried out in
FloTHERMTM. All three modes of heat transfer, i.e. conduction,
convection and radiation were considered. PCB was modeled as
a lumped cuboid with equivalent orthotropic thermal
conductivity of an automotive standard PCB. For simplicity of
the model, connector was not considered as part of the
geometry. The size of housings under study were similar to
those of typical electronic housings used in automotive
applications. The length and breadth of housings were modeled
to be equal. Metallic housings were considered to be made of
standard aluminum die cast material. Plastic housings were
considered to be made of Polyamide-66 material. The value of
emissivity for Polyamide-66 was considered significantly larger
as compared to that of Aluminum die cast material. Fig. 1 shows
metallic and plastic housing models used for simulation. For
metallic housing, the two heatsinks were considered to be of
unequal surface areas. For plastic housing, the top cover was
considered to be of greater height than bottom cover.
An ambient temperature (Ta), which is typical in automotive
application, was used for the simulation. In the study
concerning incident airflow, velocity of incoming air was
assumed to be 2 m/s, which is as per automotive standard.
C. Thermal loads on ECU
A total heat generation of 10 W caused by power losses in
components is spread evenly over PCB volume. Further, in one
of the studies, effect of solar radiation is considered. For worst-
case analysis, conditions of 12 noon of June 21, for latitude of
12.97 °N (Bangalore), were used to calculate solar load on ECU.
D. Simulation and measurement correlation
Before conducting the following studies, results from
simulation model for plastic housing were correlated with real
time measurements of an existing product. The comparison of
Rth,i-a for plastic housing from simulation and experiment is
shown in Fig 2. Rth,i-a is calculated as follows:
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Since simulation results were found to be within 4% of the
measurement results, it can be assumed that the model is
realistic.
Fig. 2 Comparison of Rth,i-a for plastic housing from simulation and
experiment
III. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Lifetime of electronic components depends on the internal
air temperature (Ti) of the housings. This is why, the temperature
rise of internal air over ambient temperature i.e. temperature
difference between internal air and ambient (ΔTi-a) was chosen
as the parameter for comparison of different orientations in the
following studies. For the estimation of Ti one can use either of
following two approaches. The first approach is to use an
average value from temperature probes placed within the
internal volume of housing. The second approach is to estimate
Ti by generating iso-surfaces. For the results presented in the
following sections, the latter approach was used. However, the
conclusions remain the same irrespective of the approach used.
For first study, forced convection airflow was considered.
For rest of the studies, natural convection airflow is considered
around the housing.
A. Effect of orientation of metallic housings w.r.t. incident air
flow
In this section we study the effect of different airflow
directions (as shown in Fig. 3) on ΔTi-a of metallic housings. This
study is applicable for electronic housings placed in forced
airflow environments e.g. ECUs placed behind radiator fans. In
this study, for all airflow directions, the plane of the housing is
assumed to be horizontal i.e. perpendicular to gravity as shown
in Fig. 3.
Fig. 3 Different airflow directions for metallic housing
 The temperature rise of internal air (ΔTi-a) for the six
directions of airflow is given in Table. I. It was observed that
ΔTi-a is minimum when airflow is aligned with the length of fins
i.e. for direction A. This is a result of air being allowed to flow
freely in between the fins, which in turn improves convective
heat transfer. This phenomenon is shown in Fig. 4. An equally
favorable direction of airflow is direction E. This is because
when air is directed at fins from top, it is able to move freely in
between the fins. The airflow for direction E is shown in Fig. 5.
For direction B, as can be seen in Fig. 6, because of flow
separation, air velocity between the fins is very low. This reduces Fig. 6 Direction B of airflow for metallic housing: Velocity vector
plot
the effectiveness of fins, thus leading to larger rise in
temperature of internal air. The internal air temperature plots for
directions A and E are shown in Fig. 7 (a)-(b).

TABLE I. RISE OF INTERNAL AIR TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT

ORIENTATIONS OF METALLIC HOUSING W.R.T. INCOMING AIRFLOW

Orientation ΔTi-a, °C
A 7
(a) ΔTi-a = 7 (°C) (b) ΔTi-a = 7 (°C)
B 9
Fig. 7 Internal air temperature (Ti) of metallic housing for directions
C 9 A and E of airflow

D 20
B. Effect of orientation of metallic housings w.r.t. gravity
E 7
The effect on ΔTi-a of different orientations of metallic
F 8 housings w.r.t gravity direction (as shown in Fig. 8) is studied.

Fig. 8 Different orientations of gravity w.r.t metallic housing

Fig. 4 Direction A of airflow for metallic housing: Speed contour plot
For the six orientations of gravity, the temperature rise of
internal air (ΔTi-a) is given in Table II. It was observed that ΔTi-a
is minimum for direction B of gravity i.e. when the fins are
aligned vertically and the heatsink area lies near the top. This is
because of better heat transfer by convection as air rises freely in
between the fins. The air stream built up for direction B is shown
in Fig. 9 (a)-(b). The internal air temperature plot for direction B
of gravity is shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 5 Direction E of airflow for metallic housing: Speed contour plot

 (a) Fig. 11 Different orientations of gravity w.r.t. plastic housing

The temperature rise of internal air (ΔTi-a) for the three given
orientations of gravity is given in Table. III. It was observed that
ΔTi-a is minimum for direction C of gravity i.e. when the plane
of the housing is vertical. As shown in Fig 12 (a)-(b), for
direction C i.e. when plane of ECU is vertical, the column of
rising hot air near the PCB accelerates to gain higher velocity as
it comes in contact with the entire length of the PCB. Higher
momentum leads to better heat transfer by convection. For
(b) direction A, as shown in Fig 13 (a)-(b), the vertical movement of
Fig. 9 Direction B of gravity for metallic housing: (a) Velocity vector air is restricted. In addition, the rising hot air comes in contact
plot (b) Speed contour plot
with shorter length of PCB. This causes poor air movement, thus
leading to less effective heat transfer by convection. Similar
TABLE II. RISE OF INTERNAL AIR TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT phenomenon is observed for direction B. The internal air
ORIENTATIONS OF METALLIC HOUSING W.R.T. GRAVITY temperature plot for direction C of gravity is shown in Fig. 14.
Orientation ΔTi-a, °C
TABLE III. RISE OF INTERNAL AIR TEMPERATURE FOR DIFFERENT
A 21 ORIENTATIONS OF PLASTIC HOUSING W.R.T. GRAVITY
B 19 Orientation ΔTi-a, °C
C 21 A 18
D 20 B 18
E 20 C 14
F 21

(a)

ΔTi-a = 19 (°C)
Fig. 10 Internal air temperature (Ti) of metallic housing for direction
B of gravity

C. Effect of orientation of plastic housings w.r.t. gravity

In this section we study the effect on ΔTi-a of different
orientations of plastic housing w.r.t gravity direction (as shown (b)
in Fig. 11). Based on geometry description, directions A and B Fig. 12 Direction C of gravity for plastic housing: (a) Velocity vector
are different. plot (b) Speed contour plot

(a)
(b)
Fig. 13 Direction A of gravity for plastic housing: (a) Velocity vector
plot (b) Speed contour plot
ΔTi-a = 14 (°C)
Fig. 14 Internal air temperature (Ti) of plastic housing for direction C
of gravity
D. Effect of orientation of plastic housings w.r.t. solar
radiation
The effect on ΔTi-a of different orientations of plastic
housings w.r.t solar radiation (as shown in Fig. 15) is studied. In
addition to heat generation of 10 W, solar radiation is considered,
details of which are mentioned in section I-C. This study is
applicable for electronic housings mounted in environments
exposed to solar radiation e.g. ECUs mounted on outer body of
an off-road automotive.
(a) (b)
Fig. 15 Different orientations of plastic housing w.r.t. solar radiation
For given two orientations the temperature rise of internal air
(ΔTi-a) is given in Table II. It was observed that ΔTi-a is minimum
for case (b) of Fig. 15 i.e. when the plane of the housing is
vertical. This is a result of lesser projected-area perpendicular to
direction of solar radiation. The internal air temperature plots for
the two different orientations are shown in Fig. 16 (a)-(b).
(a) ΔTi-a = 35 (°C) (b) ΔTi-a = 23 (°C)
Fig. 16 Internal air temperature (Ti) of plastic housing for different
orientations w.r.t. solar radiation. Note that arrows show direction of
solar radiation
IV. CONCLUSION
The internal air temperature (Ti) of an electronic housing is
a critical indicator of the lifetime of that electronic product.
Certain orientations of the housing result in lower ΔTi-a as
compared to others. For metallic housings under incident
airflow, least ΔTi-a is achieved either when airflow direction is
aligned with the length of the fins or when airflow is directed
towards top of the fins. For metallic and plastic housings under
natural convection airflow, ΔTi-a is minimum when the plane of
the housing is vertical. Moreover, for metallic housings ΔTi-a is
minimum when the fins are vertical and heatsink areas lie
towards the top. In addition, when solar radiation acts on plastic
housings least ΔTi-a is observed when the plane of the ECU is
vertical.
For same orientation of plastic housing w.r.t. gravity, it was
observed that ΔTi-a increases by 17 °C with addition of solar load
on the housing. This shows that it is important to consider the
effect of solar radiation for relevant applications.
For natural convection airflow, ratio of heat transfer by
convection to heat transfer by radiation (Rc-r) is studied. For
metallic housings, Rc-r is observed to be approximately 2:1. For
plastic housings, Rc-r is found to be approximately 1:3. This
shows that radiation is a major mode of heat transfer in case of
plastic housings. Therefore, surroundings of the mounting
location also play a critical role in case of plastic housing.
Whereas, for metallic housings, the airflow around the
electronics plays a critical role.
The studies carried out in this paper can help design
engineers in choosing an optimum orientation for their electronic
products.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We are very grateful to our organization, Robert Bosch
Engineering and Business Solution Pvt. Ltd., for giving us an
opportunity to conduct this research. We are also grateful for the
assistance provided by our family, friends and colleagues
towards writing this paper. Special thanks to Sarvesh Talaulicar,
Vipindas Othiyil and Lakshmikanth G for giving us necessary
approvals to present this paper in the conference.
 REFERENCES
[1] Nitesh Kumar Sardana, Susyamala Pavan Kumar Busam, Dr. Laxmidhar
Biswal, “Simulation Driven Design Optimization for Reduction of
Temperature on a High Current Density PCB,” International NAFEMS
Conference on Engineering Analysis, Modeling, Simulation and 3D-
Printing (NAFEMS-3D) – 2016
[2] Nitesh Kumar Sardana, Ritwik Alok Pattnayak, Susyamala Pavan Kumar
Busam, Chandan Kumar Ghosh ,and Laxmidhar Biswal, “Thermal
Analysis of a battery in an electronic device for an outdoor application,”
ICEP 2016 Proceedings