Abstract
This paper discusses the “inlet temperature difference” (ITD) based heat-exchanger (and its variants) design methodology frequently used by designers of electronic heat sinks. This is at variance with the accepted methodology recommended in standard heat-exchanger textbooks—the “log-mean temperature difference,” or the equivalent e-NTU design method. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and discuss the ITD based design methodology. The paper shows that the ITD based method is an approximation at best. Variants of the method can lead to either under- or overprediction of the heat transfer rate. Its shortcomings are evaluated and designers are directed to the well established and accepted design methodology.
Highlights
Designers of electronic “heat sinks,” using either air or water cooling, typically do not treat their device as a “heat-exchanger” and tend to tend to ignore traditional procedures and rules applicable to heatexchanger design
This is at variance with accepted design procedure for industrial, automotive, and air-conditioning heat exchangers, which use the “Log-Mean Temperature Difference”
(LMTD), or the equivalent “effectiveness-NTU” ( -NTU) design method. This difference in methodology to define the driving temperature difference raises questions concerning the application and validity either test or predicted results based on the Inlet TemperatureDifference” (ITD) driving temperature difference method
Summary
Designers of electronic “heat sinks,” using either air or water cooling, typically do not treat their device as a “heat-exchanger” and tend to tend to ignore traditional procedures and rules applicable to heatexchanger design. Source Such design methodology is described here as the “Inlet Temperature. This is at variance with accepted design procedure for industrial, automotive, and air-conditioning heat exchangers, which use the “Log-Mean Temperature Difference”. (LMTD), or the equivalent “effectiveness-NTU” ( -NTU) design method. This difference in methodology to define the driving temperature difference raises questions concerning the application and validity either test or predicted results based on the ITD driving temperature difference method. The main thesis of this pape1r is to show that what is described as the ITD design method is not a valid design method
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