Real Time Simulations of Liquid Cooled Heat Sinks for Electronic Applications (ABP)

This Application Best Practice (ABP) offers a comprehensive introduction to Ansys Discovery™ 3D product simulation software Explore Mode, with a special focus on combined liquid cooling and air-free convection for electronic devices. Both fundamental and advanced capabilities of Discovery Simulation will be explored, enabling you to analyze various liquid cooling scenarios. This ABP covers operating conditions and the impact of different coolant types on thermal performance.

Learning Outcomes:

Following completion of this Application Best Practice (ABP), you will be able to:

• Confidently use the Explore mode in Discovery Simulation for thermal and fluid flow analyses
• Prepare geometry for Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) simulations, including material assignments and the application of relevant boundary conditions for liquid cooling and air-free convection
• Investigate a variety of cooling scenarios, including comparing different liquid coolants and performing real-time geometry and boundary condition modifications
• Progress from a simple model to more complex simulations for enhanced realism and accuracy
• Apply local mesh refinement in Explore mode to enhance simulation detail and evaluate its impact on key monitors of interest, without significantly increasing GPU memory usage
• Utilize post-processing and visualization tools such as contours, vectors, and streamlines to assess and communicate design performance
• Develop a strong understanding of key CHT concepts, including thermal conduction, radiation, forced convection, free convection, boundary conditions, and meshing strategies
• Appreciate the advantages of real-time simulation results and learn how to leverage Ansys Discovery software unified interface to accelerate and improve the design process

Prerequisites:

• Basic Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer Knowledge
• Basic CFD Knowledge
• Conjugate Heat Transfer using Ansys Discovery Software

Please note: These training materials were developed and tested in the 2025R1 release.

Application Best Practices (ABPs) outline engineering design goals for specific applications and provide guidance for how to achieve those goals using Ansys simulation software. It is important to note that a Geometry File or other Input Files are not always available. ABPs, as opposed to the official training-material workshops/tutorials, are not meant to be a step-by-step instruction document. ABPs are a link between product-based training courses and application specific tutorials, educating on the "how" and "why" of the best modeling approach, highlighting best practices and workflows for a particular application.