Abstract:

In this paper the authors share the experience in their attempts to minimize the gap between educational research and educational practice. Research should have a practical impact if it helps practitioners to acquire a different understanding of their practice. That is valid to a greater extent for the university education in engineering. In order to overcome thе gap between education and scientific work, the authors conducted practical exercises with students to introduce the scientific study of temperature of electronic devices and systems in their educational program.

Heat has a negative impact on the performance and reliability of electronic devices and systems and therefore heat management is one of the important aspects of creating new electronic products. The major challenges in the design of modern electronic devices are the ever-increasing elements integration and power density in the chips, which requires the use of technical tools such as CFD tools to support design and clarification of the complex interactions connected with the heat transfer. This article discusses the experience with engineering students in the design and development of a cooling of an amplifier unit built on the TDA1516BQ integrated amplifier with a power of 2 x 12W. During the cooling design process, a series of simulations by means of a CFD software was conducted to predict heat transfer and to determine the temperature of the heat source (integrated circuit TDA1516BQ) under different load modes. The simulations aim to ensure good heat removal from the amplifier box, despite of its compact size and to guarantee high reliability even at extreme ambient temperatures. To investigate the thermal behavior of the amplifier, a digital model has been created, including sub-models of all the components and parts of the structure related to the heat exchange processes in the box. The amplifier box itself is modeled in detail and includes all the walls, partitions and openings for circulating fluid flows in and / or surrounding space near the box. A thermal model of the PCB and the components of the two integrated circuits (TDA1516BQ) for the two amplifier channels are also created. The results of the thermal analysis which are carried out by simulations are verified by means of temperature measurements using thermocouples placed at certain control points on the radiator and the integrated circuits.

After the study, conclusions are drawn regarding the students' motivation to carry out research work in the process of their training.

Keywords:

Research, education, heat transfer, electronic equipment.