ABSTRACT

As mentioned in Chapter 1, experimental measurements play important roles in a thermal design process. They are used to provide input to thermal modeling (preanalysis tests), to either verify that a design meets the requirements or to identify areas of concern (Engineering Verification Tests (EVT) and Design Verification Tests (DVT)), and to certify the compatibility of a product with the applicable industry standards and requirements (certification tests). The extent of experimental measurements and the parameters that are measured depend on the product and how it is cooled. Airflow rate through an air-cooled unit and air velocity and air temperature in such systems, fan or pump performance curve, component’s case or junction temperature, heat sink temperature, exterior surface temperature of a unit, and noise level are among the parameters that may be measured during a thermal design process. Some of the techniques used to measure these parameters are described in this chapter.