Microprocessor Thermal Management

For this project, my team and I tasked with determining a new thermal management strategy for microprocessors. We separated this into the following tasks:

• Characterize the resistance and temperature coefficient of resistance of the microprocessor

• Identify thermal contact resistance

• Perform experiments to quantify improvement in heat transfer with the incorporation of various heat sinks

• Develop a predictive heat transfer model to analyze the effect of heat sinks and flow velocity of ambient air

• Propose a thermal management strategy that will enable maintaining the device temperature below 82°C

• Analyze the feasibility of increasing the power dissipation to 10 watts while capping temperature rise to 82°C