Analysis of thermal behaviour of a microprocessor using simulation and experiment

Abstract

Thermal management of microprocessor is considered as an important factor in computer appliances. Several analysis and methods have been discussed regarding the scope of heat sink and microprocessor. The shape, size, material of heat sink and velocity and direction of air from the CPU fan plays an important role for thermal management of microprocessor while running the CPU. In this research a numerical and experimental analysis is done for the heat sink and microprocessor in order to understand the thermal response. Numerical analysis is done using software ANSYS 2023 STUDENT R1 version and an infrared thermographic study has been done as part of experimental analysis on the CPU model HP COMPAQ ELITE 8300 SFF. Microprocessor used in this experiment is Intel core i7 chips and exact dimension of CPU chassis have been taken for the numerical part. The thermal images are captured with Fluke Ti 450 camera. The device offers high spectral resolution while taking the thermal image. Analysis shows there are small deviations between the numerical and experimental part. Using nanofluids, a method is also been discussed for thermal management of microprocessor as a substitute for heat sink, for future scope of the project.