Ansys Inc. has announced the latest release of Ansys Icepak software, which applies fluid-dynamics technology to electronics thermal management. The 12.0 release introduces new features for PCB (printed-circuit-board) and package thermal analysis, new and enhanced technology for complex meshing geometry, and new physical-modeling capabilities. These features enable engineers who design electronic components for products such as cell phones, computers, and graphics cards to improve design performance, reduce the need for physical prototypes, and shorten time to market.
Ansys Icepak software accelerates product development by simulating the dissipation of thermal energy in electronic devices at the component, board, or system level. Based on the Ansys Fluent CFD (computational-fluid-dynamics) solver, Ansys Icepak software has a streamlined user interface that enables the rapid creation of models of complex electronic assemblies. Integration of Ansys Iceboard and Ansys Icechip capabilities into Ansys Icepak 12.0 provides engineers with an integrated platform to analyze package, PCB, and system designs. Direct importing of ECADs (electronic-computer-aided designs) allows engineers to model all components of packages and PCBs, including, traces, vias, solder balls, solder bumps, wire bonds, and dice (see “SIwave 4.0 addresses signal and power integrity,” EDN, June 17, 2009). A new PCB-trace joule-heating-modeling capability along with the ability to import dc-power-distribution profiles from Ansoft SIwave software enhance the accurate thermal simulation of PCBs. Icepak 12.0 also offers enhanced macros, enhanced fan-modeling capabilities, parallel processing, postprocessing, and new libraries for heat sinks, thermoelectric coolers, and materials. In keeping with the Ansys multiphysics strategy, Ansys Icepak technology, in conjunction with SIwave and Ansys Mechanical products, provides a coupled approach to address the electrical, thermal, and structural requirements of electronics-design engineers.
Ansys Icepak 12.0 employs two new meshing technologies—automatic multi-level meshing and Cartesian hex-dominant meshing—to enhance the software’s ability to handle complex geometries and improve accuracy without sacrificing robustness. New meshing enhancements provide improved mesh smoothness, quality, curvature, proximity capturing, and speed. The automatic generation of accurate, conformal meshes that represent the true shape of electronic components and the solution of fluid flow and all modes of heat transfer—conduction, convection and radiation—for both steady-state and transient thermal flow simulations enable engineers to rapidly evaluate thermal management issues for electronic devices, with a reduction in development time and increased product reliability as a result.
Ansys Inc.Caption
The Ansys Icepak 12.0 release introduces new features for PCB thermal analysis.
