Introduction

Synthetic Jet Forced Air Cooling Extends the Envelope of Air Cooling

As increasing functionality is packaged into ever-shrinking electronics, cooling requirements rise exponentially. While there have been continued advances in high heat flux technologies, commercial, consumer-oriented systems continue to focus on air cooling for reasons of reliability, acoustics, cost and portability. In order to support the increasing power dissipation levels, designers use high-speed fans with noise, reliability and weight penalties.

It has become clear that heat exchange to the ambient has to be more efficient, i.e., better air-side heat transfer with lower air flow rates.

Abstract

Nuventix Synthetic Jet Technology = High Heat Transfer at Low Flow Rates, High Reliability, and Low Acoustics.

In this article, we present a novel air cooling technology, called a synthetic jet, which extends the envelope of air cooling by providing high heat transfer at low flow rates with low acoustics and high reliability. Synthetic jets, like those used in the Nuventix SynJet are produced by the oscillation of a diaphragm bounding a cavity and are comprised of the ambient fluid surrounding the jet module. This method of producing an unsteady, turbulent air jet enables compact and unique form factors for cooling electronics. Several case studies are presented to show the efficacy of synthetic jet cooling. Some unique cooling methodologies that are not possible with traditional fans also are described.

Applications

Also, since synthetic jets are inherently pulsating and turbulent, they produce higher heat transfer coefficients than typical fan flows and can remove heat from a surface with less airflow. Synthetic jet technology challenges traditional tradeoffs in cooling such as forced air vs. convection and liquid vs. air. Two sample product applications are server cooling and LED cooling. This paper presents case studies related to spot cooling and fan augmentation.

*If you would like to read this Technical Paper in its entirety, please submit the following form.
	indicates a required field : privacy policy
First Name
Last Name
Email
Zip/Postal Code
Company