Set up an Electronics Cooling analysis

The electronics cooling study in Fusion simulates the temperature that components on an electronics board are likely to reach, to help you determine whether PCB components are at risk of failure due to overheating. There is no need to simplify the components or model the air volume surrounding them, as these tasks are performed automatically by the solver.

Note: For an electronics design that was modeled in Fusion, THERMALLOSS and MAXTEMP attributes set on the components before switching to the Simulation workspace are imported as Internal Heat and Temperature Threshold values, automatically.
Note: This section covers procedures that are specific to Electronics cooling analyses only.

Workflow: Run an electronics cooling analysis

  1. Open an electronics design that was created in Fusion, or in another CAD package.

  2. Click the workspace switcher and select the Simulation workspace.

    • The first time you enter the Simulation workspace, the New Study dialog appears automatically.

  3. In the New Study dialog, select Electronics Cooling as the Study Type.

    • To change the study name and the balance between speed and accuracy, click Settings in the top right of the Electronics Cooling summary image, then click Back to apply the changes.

  4. In the New Study dialog, click Create Study to open the new electronics cooling study in the Simulation workspace.

  5. In the Setup tab, click material icon (Materials panel > Materials) to apply, view, or edit the materials.

    • Materials applied to the electronics design are imported into the electronics cooling study, automatically, but may need to be confirmed.

  6. In the Setup tab, click thermal loads icon (Loads panel > Thermal Load) to apply the Internal Heat loads.

    • If a THERMALLOSS attribute were set on a component in the electronics design, this value populates the internal heat value for that component in the electronics cooling study, automatically.

  7. If your model includes a fan, select the fan body, then click fan icon (Cooling panel > Fan) to apply a volumetric air or fluid flow.

    • The fan is automatically simplified to produce a representation that includes only two parts; (a) the fan housing and (b) a cylindrical core region that represents the blade assembly.

  8. If your model includes heat sinks, select the heat sink body, then click heat sink icon (Cooling panel > Heat Sink) to create an idealized representation of the extruded heat sink design.

    • The heat sink is simplified to reduce the analysis time while maintaining solution accuracy. Repeat the process for each heat sink in your design.

  9. If you want to highlight PCB components that are at risk of overheating, click critical temperatures icon (Thresholds panel > Temperature Thresholds) to set the temperature threshold on those components.

    • If a MAXTEMP attribute were set on a component in the electronics design, this value populates the temperature threshold value for that component, automatically.

      Note: The Temperature Thresholds result, and the associated Guided Result are generated only when you apply temperature thresholds to board components.

  10. If precheck passed icon Pre-check shows the study set up is ready, click solve icon (Solve panel > Solve) to run the analysis.

  11. When the analysis is complete, click results icon (Results panel > Results) to view the results.

Parent page: Electronics cooling study