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All too often, the overall performance of an electronic design isn’t limited by technology constraints, but rather ultimately boils down to a problem of heat dissipation. With the exception of superconductors, the operation of all electrical and electronic equipment results in some power loss, which is inevitably dissipated as heat.
Accepting this fact, equipment designers need to consider how that heat will affect the performance of their design and how to remove it from their system. In doing so, they can ensure that their design continues to operate correctly, with no damaging effects on individual component parts. As systems grow more complex, with rapidly increasing densities, the thermal management of your system becomes a major design consideration.
In many instances, heat can be conducted away from critical components, through the circuit board and case, and dissipated to the surrounding air. For larger systems, especially computers, servers and similar rack-mount equipment, where the combination of conduction and natural convection cooling isn’t sufficient, fans are often needed to provide forced-air cooling.
Once a designer reaches this conclusion, the next question is, “What sort of fan do I need?” followed by “What size does the fan need to be and what other criteria are important in specifying the right fan for my application?” As with most things in life, and particularly in engineering, there’s a process to go through to arrive at answers to these questions. Here are a few simple steps to help with that process:
Before you can begin the process of selecting a fan, you must understand how much heat your system is generating. Components such as microcontrollers, processors, FPGAs, and MOSFETs are often the heaviest consumers of power and, hence, the prime culprits for significant heat dissipation. These components can create hot spots within the system. However, it’s possible to model the resulting thermal profile, either with a number of distributed thermocouples or more accurately using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) (Fig.1).
A fan is a versatile turbomachine that effectively moves air or a compressible gas by transferring mechanical energy to it. Since it is not always easy to choose the right equipment in front of a multitude of manufacturers, we have produced this buying guide with tips and recommendations to help you make the right purchasing decision.
Hicham Dhouibi and Francesco D’Amore contributed to this buying guide.
In climatic engineering, fans play a crucial role in ventilation and air conditioning systems, ensuring the continuous renewal of air within buildings and eliminating harmful fumes such as smoke, odors, and vapors. Additionally, small fans find frequent applications in cooling electronic devices.
Fans can be broadly classified into two main types: propeller fans and centrifugal fans. When selecting an appropriate fan, it is essential to consider two key characteristics: the fan’s air circulation capacity and its noise level. By carefully evaluating these factors, one can make an informed decision to ensure optimal performance and minimal noise disturbance in the intended application.