Heat Dissipation Simulation in Tightly Packed Spaces

PCB heat dissipation simulation with Altair’s multiphysics software

Performing simulation(s) on your PCB design to check functionality and verify design concerns is standard practice. However, it is equally important to analyze the board’s power flows, thermal distribution, and heat dissipation. Failure to do so can significantly affect your board and system functionality, resulting in erratic operation or even catastrophic failure. These concerns can be avoided by performing a thermal analysis of your PCB and its components using thermoelectric simulation technology available from Altair Engineering, Inc., the industry leader in simulation-driven design solutions.

The Importance of PCB Electromechanical Thermal Analysis

From a safety perspective, excessive heat is the greatest threat to electronic circuit boards and electromechanical components and systems. As heat generation cannot be avoided in electrical systems–except perhaps through superconductive materials–a thermal profile of your board and/or system must be created and analyzed to ensure structural integrity limits are not exceeded. The consequences of neglecting this essential evaluation can range from costly operational failures to environmental contingencies to physical injury.

The best solution is to design for these issues in the earliest stages of product development. When engineers select components, they can use simulation software to evaluate the thermal impact of their choices and avoid unnecessary design iterations. This is particularly relevant for tightly packed designs such as wearable tech, medical devices and other space-constrained system designs. Selecting the optimal software solution is predicated on understanding the following challenges.

PCB and Systems Analysis Challenges

Effectively analyzing your PCB or electromechanical system requires precision modeling and software that is capable of accurately simulating your design’s behavior. The simulation software should address the challenges below.

ELECTROMECHANICAL THERMAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS
Challenge	Solution
Address component, board and system dimensional accuracy	Solutions should easily and accurately scale from the nano to the macro, enabling engineers to understand the thermal behavior at the chip, board and system level.
Comprehensive thermal simulation	For PCB and electronics-based systems, thermal analysis must include device heat generation and power distribution network (PDN) modeling to capture distribution and dissipation flows.
Evaluate design alternatives quickly	The need to rapidly evaluate design variations that can include heat sinks, fan components, or layout changes requires solutions that offer design of experiments (DOE) and AI-powered optimization to assess more designs in less time.
Support efficient design workflows	Simulations can be costly and time-consuming. The best solutions enhance efficiency by offering intuitive, process-oriented workflows that enable individuals without specialized analysis expertise to perform early-stage thermal simulations in a collaborative environment.
ECAD and MCAD system analysis	The need for streamlined electromechanical integration design is growing tremendously, which mandates that thermal simulation software be equipped to model industry-standard formats used by both electronics and mechanical engineers and designers.
EDA tool integration	Many thermal analysis solutions are platform-dependent and require a specific design program. The best solution is one that is platform-agnostic and that integrates with common EDA tools without sacrificing capability or efficiency.

As shown above, there are challenges and solutions to be considered when choosing thermal analysis software for your electromechanical design. Most thermal simulation software tools fall short. However, Altair offers solutions that combine multiphysics simulation capabilities with the essentials for PCB and system thermal analysis.

Heat Dissipation Simulation Software for PCB EM Analysis

Many engineering disciplines utilize simulation software. For example, COMSOL is a popular choice offering general capabilities for mechanical, civil, structural, and other engineering domains. However, for PCB design and development, Altair provides the best multiphysics simulation software alternatives. This includes solutions for single PCB and electromechanical system thermal analysis.

Altair®Pollex®: Single PCB Thermal Analysis

Thermal simulation with Altair®Pollex®

As shown above, PollEx provides engineers and thermal analysts with a simulation tool for identifying PCB hotspots and heat flows. The solution’s primary attributes for thermal analysis include:

✅ Evaluating the thermal impact of selected components in PCBs.

✅ Easily understanding the impact of different power supplies on PCB thermal behavior.

✅ Advanced PCB verification capabilities to facilitate efficient manufacturing.

✅ Cross-discipline collaboration throughout development.

For more information, visit PollEx

Altair® SimLab®: System Thermal Analysis

As systems grow more complex and components need to fit into increasingly tightly packed spaces, integrating ECAD and MCAD designs into a single development environment will help companies meet modern requirements. SimLab leads the way with multiphysics simulations for single PCB and multi-board systems that offer these electromechanical thermal capabilities.

✅ Intuitive user interface (UI) for early-stage thermal insights with minimal CFD experience required.

✅ Thermal solver designed for electronics.

✅ Heatsink performance assessment under varying airflow conditions.

✅ Support for different flow regimes for air and liquid.

✅ Importing ECAD design and model setup directly on CAD.

✅ Comprehensive multiphysics analysis capabilities including CFD, EMI, power converter, and electro-mechanical co-simulation.

✅ Design of Experiments and AI-powered optimization

✅ Robust and repeatable simulations facilitate efficient workflows and easy design modification.

SimLab is a multiphysics simulation environment that excels at analyzing models from chip to board to system. Coupled with AI-technology and the single board focus of PollEx, Altair provides a complete solution to your electromechanical thermal analysis and design needs.

If you’re looking for CAD models for common components or important design information like how the right heat dissipation simulation software can solve your PCB thermal analysis design challenges, Ultra Librarian helps by compiling all your sourcing and CAD information in one place.

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