Investigation of the Influence of Technological Factors on the Characteristics of Flexible Non-Adhesive Foil Dielectrics

Currently, the traditional use of varnish-foil dielectrics for manufacturing resistors, resistive assemblies and heating elements has been supplemented by their application in production of thermal resistors, the membranes of acoustic and photoelectric transformers. As a rule, the non-adhesive foil dielectrics sustain the affect of high temperatures, permit to significantly increase the density of elements and have better quality characteristics, because the adhesives have negative effect upon the electrical characteristics of the materials, manufactured with their application. Also, the adhesives have comparatively low thermal resistance, which manifests on the total thermal resistance of foil dielectric and the items manufactured on it, especially in case when as a base polyimide is used. In the paper the flexible foil dielectrics for electronic equipment and their manufacturing technology have been considered. The advantages of the non-adhesive foil dielectrics with complete imidization of the polymer base have been shown. The technology of manufacturing the varnish-foil dielectrics, used in manufacturing highly reliable microcircuits of modification 2 and of highly technological membranes of acoustic transformers, has been developed. The polyimide base of the dielectrics has high adhesion to foil and the guaranteed uniformity of the imidization extent 95-100 %. This provides the stability of technological conditions in the process of manufacturing the items from the given materials, as well as an increase of the storage life of the varnish-foil dielectrics up to 12 months.

Design and optimization of cost-effective coldproof portable enclosures for polar environment

Based on the International Electrotechnical Commission standards, the electronic devices in the industrial class (e.g., integrated circuits or batteries) can only operate at the ambient temperature between -40°C and 85°C. For the human-involved regions in Alaska, Northern Canada, and Antarctica, extreme cold condition as low as -55°C might affect sensing electronic devices utilized in the scientific or industrial applications. In this paper, we propose a design and optimization methodology for the self-heating portable enclosures, which can warm up the inner space from -55°C for encasing the low-cost industrial-class electronic devices instead of expensive military-class ones to work reliably within their allowed operating temperature limit. Among the other options, ceramic thermal resistors are selected as the heating elements inside the enclosure. The placement of the thermal resistors is studied with the aid of thermal modelling for the single heating device by using the curve fitting technique to achieve uniform temperature distribution within the enclosure. To maintain the inner temperature above -40°C but with the least power consumption from the thermal resistors, we have developed a control system based on the fuzzy logic controller. For validation, we have utilized COMSOL Multiphysics software and then one prototyped enclosure along with the fuzzy control system. Our experimental measurement exhibits its efficacy compared to the other design options.

Design and Optimization of Cost-Effective Coldproof Portable Enclosures for Polar Environment

Based on the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, the electronic devices in the industrial class (e.g., integrated circuits (ICs) or batteries) can only operate at the ambient temperature between -40°C and 85°C. For the human-involved regions in Alaska, Northern Canada, and Antarctica, extreme cold condition as low as -55°C might affect sensing electronic devices utilized in the scientific or industrial applications. In this paper, we propose a design and optimization methodology for the self-heating portable enclosures, which can warm up the inner space from -55°C for encasing the low-cost industrial-class electronic devices instead of expensive military-class ones to work reliably within their allowed operating temperature limit. By considering various factors (including hardness, thermal conductivity, cost, and lifetime), we determine to mainly use polycarbonate as the manufacturing material of the enclosure. Among the other options, ceramic thermal resistors are selected as the heating elements inside the enclosure. The placement of the thermal resistors is studied with the aid of thermal modelling for the single heating device by using the curve fitting technique to achieve uniform temperature distribution within the enclosure. To maintain the inner temperature above -40°C but with the least power consumption from the thermal resistors, we have developed a control system based on the fuzzy logic controller (FLC). For validation, we have first utilized COMSOL Multiphysics software and then prototyped one enclosure along with the control system. Our experimental measurement exhibits its efficacy compared to the other design options.

Characterizing Macroscopic Thermal Resistance Across Contacting Interfaces Through Local Understanding of Thermal Transport

ABSTRACTThermal resistance across the interface between touching surfaces is critical for many industrial applications. We developed a network model to predict the macroscopic thermal resistance of mechanically contacting surfaces. Contacting interfaces are fractally rough, with small islands of locally intimate contact separated by regions with a wider gas filled boundary gap. Heat flow across the interface is therefore heterogeneous and thus the contact model is based on a network of thermal resistors representing boundary resistance at local contacts and the access resistance for lateral transport to contacts. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to characterize boundary resistance of Silicon Alumina interfaces for testing the sensitivity of thermal resistance to contact opening. Boltzmann transport simulations of access resistance in Si are conducted in the ballistic transport regime.

A Thermal Resistance Model for Problems Involving Chemical Reactions and Phase Transition

This paper formulates a modified thermal resistance model (MTRM) for dealing with heat transfer situations involving heat sources from chemical reactions or phase transition. The modified thermal resistance model describes the various heat transfer mechanisms by three common thermal resistors, radiation, convection, and conduction (in media with no internal mass diffusion), adding a new coupled thermal resistor that stands for conduction and enthalpy flow in the gas phase. Similarly to the classical thermal resistance approach, the present model is valid for one-dimensional, quasi-steady heat transfer problems, but it can also handle problems with an internal chemical heat generation source. The new thermal resistance approach can be a useful modular tool for solving relatively easily and quickly complex problems involving chemical reactions and phase transition, such as combustion problems.

Physical-Statistical Model of Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids

A physical-statistical model for predicting the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids is proposed. The volumetric unit of nanofluids in the model consists of solid, liquid, and gas particles and is treated as a system made up of regular geometric figures, spheres, filling the volumetric unit by layers. The model assumes that connections between layers of the spheres and between neighbouring spheres in the layer are represented by serial and parallel connections of thermal resistors, respectively. This model is expressed in terms of thermal resistance of nanoparticles and fluids and the multinomial distribution of particles in the nanofluids. The results for predicted and measured effective thermal conductivity of several nanofluids (Al2O3/ethylene glycol-based and Al2O3/water-based; CuO/ethylene glycol-based and CuO/water-based; and TiO2/ethylene glycol-based) are presented. The physical-statistical model shows a reasonably good agreement with the experimental results and gives more accurate predictions for the effective thermal conductivity of nanofluids compared to existing classical models.

An Improved Method of Thermal Resistance Measurement for Variable Thermal Resistors

As part of the study and development of a variable thermal resistor (VTR), we present an improved thermal resistance measurement method for the VTR in the presence of unwanted signal drifting. To measure the change of thermal resistance, instead of waiting for the steady state value of the temperature signal, we repeatedly measure only the early transient part of the thermal response signal and then fit to get thermal resistance estimation. The required lengths of measurement were studied for the tests with various thermal time constants. Using this method, we performed thermal switching tests with various material pairs in contact in order to find the material pair that minimizes thermal contact resistance.

Design and Verification of a Low-Powered Pre-Programmable In-Package Temperature Controller

A zero power passive temperature regulator has been studied and designed to maintain electric chip operating temperature using a variable thermal resistor. Apart from the passive temperature regulator design, we also present active variable thermal resistors using electrostatic force to actuate the device. Test samples were fabricated to verify these two designs and we observed the temperature change of a heated chip due to thermal resistance changes. This study estimated and measured the thermal contact resistance and the force required to remove it.