ECOTHERM ENGINEERING RESOURCES
Thermal Design Calculators
Use these focused tools for early-stage heat sink, airflow and liquid-cooling decisions. Start with the engineering question you need to answer, then open the calculator that matches the information available in your project.
11 focused tools · Air and liquid cooling · No sign-up required
Define the Thermal Requirement
Start here when you know the heat load and temperature limits but have not finalized the cooling hardware.
AIR ENERGY BALANCE
Find the airflow required to remove a known heat load, predict air temperature rise, or check how much heat the available airflow can carry.
Outputs: Required airflow · Air temperature rise · Removable heat
Used for: Extrusion · Zippered Fin · Folded Fin · Skived
TEMPERATURE BUDGET
Translate the power and temperature limits into the maximum system resistance and the thermal resistance required from the heat sink.
Outputs: Allowable system Rθ · Required heat sink Rθ · Estimated junction temperature
Used for: All Heat Sinks · Cold Plate · Heat Pipe Module
Design an Air-Cooled Solution
Evaluate fin geometry, fan pressure, passive ventilation and environmental derating.
HEAT SINK GEOMETRY
Check whether the available heat sink envelope creates enough thermally useful surface area for the target heat load.
Outputs: Effective area · Fin efficiency · Estimated heat-transfer capacity
Used for: Skived · Extrusion · Zippered Fin · Folded Fin
FORCED-AIR SYSTEM
Estimate heat sink and duct resistance so the selected fan can still deliver the required airflow at the real operating point.
Outputs: Heat sink pressure drop · Duct loss · Required fan static pressure
Used for: Forced-Air Heat Sinks · Fan Curve
FANLESS COOLING
Estimate whether natural convection and radiation can remove the heat, and size the lower inlet and upper outlet openings.
Outputs: Natural convection · Radiation heat share · Inlet/outlet opening area
Used for: Extrusion · Vented Enclosure
ENVIRONMENTAL CORRECTION
Quantify how installation altitude changes atmospheric conditions, fan duty and forced-air cooling performance.
Outputs: Air density · Atmospheric pressure · Cooling and fan correction factors
Used for: High-Altitude Projects · Air Cooling
Plan a Liquid-Cooling Path
Estimate cold plate thermal and hydraulic behavior using temperature-appropriate coolant data.
THERMAL AND HYDRAULIC SCREENING
Check whether the proposed flow and channel geometry can meet the temperature limit without excessive pressure drop.
Outputs: Cold plate Rθ · Coolant outlet temperature · Pressure drop · Pump power
Used for: Liquid Cold Plate · Pump Loop
REFERENCE PROPERTIES
Retrieve temperature-dependent air, water or glycol properties for use in wind-channel and liquid-loop calculations.
Outputs: Density · Specific heat · Viscosity · Conductivity · Prandtl number
Used for: Air Cooling · Liquid Cooling · Water/Glycol
Check Materials, Components & Test Data
Examine conductive layers, power-module temperature and measured or simulated resistance data.
ONE-DIMENSIONAL CONDUCTION
Compare single or multilayer material stacks and identify which base, interface or CNC layer causes the largest temperature drop.
Outputs: Single/multilayer Rθ · Per-layer temperature drop · Conductive power
Used for: CNC Parts · TIM · Heat Sink Base
POWER ELECTRONICS
Estimate IGBT and freewheel-diode losses, junction temperature and the cooling performance needed at the operating point.
Outputs: IGBT/FWD losses · Junction temperature · Required cooling performance
Used for: Cold Plate · Heat Pipe Module · Skived
CFD AND WIND-TUNNEL SUPPORT
Fit a usable velocity–pressure-drop relationship and resistance coefficient from CFD or wind-tunnel measurements.
Outputs: Velocity–ΔP curve · Fitted equation · Resistance coefficient · Fit quality
Used for: CFD · Wind Tunnel · Forced Air
Preliminary engineering estimates: use these tools to compare concepts and define initial requirements. Final performance depends on complete geometry, operating conditions, component data and validation testing.
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