The electrical analog for determining temperature distribution in electrical components

Abstract

SPACE and weight limitations in present-day aircraft necessitate miniaturization of air-borne electric equipment. Such miniaturization generally results in high heat dissipation per unit volume which may lead to local temperatures which exceed the material limitations, causing failure of the component. To avoid such failure, electrical engineers must examine the heat-transfer problem when designing compact electric apparatus. It is the purpose of this paper to present a method of heat-transfer analysis which is relatively simple and straightforward and which utilizes concepts and equipment familiar to electrical engineers. The proposed method is based on the fact that the differential equations describing the flow of heat are identical to those for the flow of electric current; consequently, an electrical analog of the heat-flow problem can be readily constructed and the electrical measurements of current and voltage can be directly translated to the equivalent thermal quantities, heat flow and temperature.