Thermal & Flow — Air Cooled Heat Sinks
Browser-based tools for first-pass thermal trade studies using natural and forced air convection. Intended for early-stage sizing, sensitivity checks, and feasibility exploration.
Tip: Start with natural convection if airflow is unknown. Use fan + plenum modules when system losses and operating point matter.
Documentation PDFs include user information, solution methods, assumptions and references.
Natural Convection
Non-Finned HX with Natural Convection
Baseline plate / simple geometry cooling: quick estimates for feasibility and sensitivity to area, material, and heat load.
Select material and plate size.
Multiple heat sources can be drawn on the plate.
Outputs include temperature contour map.
Natural convection
Finned Heat SInk with Natural Convection
Passive heat sink trade studies: fin geometry and material sensitivity with natural convection boundary conditions.
Material, plate size and fin details and location.
Multiple heat sources can be drawn on the plate.
Outputs include temperature contour map.
Forced Air
Finned Heat Sink with Forced Air
Airflow-driven cooling trade studies: explore velocity / flow rate, fin effectiveness, and heat sink temperatures.
Inputs: sink geometry, finned sections, heated sections, air velocity, flow conditions
Parametric sensitivity for early design decisions
Steady state or transient solutions.
Outputs include temperature contours, fin efficiency, transient plots at user specified location.
System Level
Fan and Finned Plate in a Plenum with Fan Curve
Fan operating point estimation and flow rate for a finned heat sink in a plenum.
Input include plenum size and finned heat sink parameters
Given a fan curve → solve for the operating flow distribution within the plenum.
Outputs include flow rates within the plenum and fan curve operating point.
System Level
Given a plenum and finned heat sink with a required flow the required fan curve is estimated.
Approximate inverse model: estimate a fan curve from required target flow and system losses.
Inputs include plenum size, finned heat sink dimensions, fan location and the required flow.
Approximate fan curve shape.
Outputs include estimated fan curve and operating point
Quick selection
Which module should I use?
Non-finned plate with natural convection: baseline feasibility, simple plates and quick sensitivity
Finned heat sink with natural convection: passive heat sink sizing without forced airflow
Finned heat sink with forced air: known / assumed airflow or fan-provided flow
Fan and fan curve + plenum with a finned heat sink. : operating point with a known fan curve
Fan + plenum with a finned heat sink: early fan sizing for required flow when the fan curve is unknown
For safety-critical decisions, validate results independently with more detailed analysis and/or testing.
Methods, limitations, and responsibility Read once
These modules implement physics-based, low-order models for rapid engineering insight. They prioritize speed and transparency over high-fidelity CFD and detailed conjugate simulations. Assumptions, boundary conditions, and correlations used are documented in the PDFs and within the modules. Users are responsible for verifying applicability and results for their specific use case.
Questions: contact@xl4sim.com · See Terms
