Apply thermal dissipation to small chips in an electronics enclosure model

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To prepare for running an electronics enclosure simulation in Autodesk CFD, you must first specify the physical characteristics of the model.

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This includes defining boundary conditions, such as applying a heat dissipation (in the form of a volumetric heat generation)

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to the small chips on a PCB.

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Begin with Boundary Conditions selected on the Setup tab of the ribbon.

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Chips are modeled as parts, so you also need to change the selection mode to Volume on the Selection panel.

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Now, you need to hide the exterior casing and air parts so you can access the internal components.

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Press CTRL while middle-clicking both the casing and the air part to hide them.

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Left-click to select the six small chips on the PCB.

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Next, on the Setup tab, Boundary Conditions context panel, click Edit.

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In the Boundary Conditions quick edit dialog, under Property settings, verify that the Type is set to Total Heat Generation.

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Set the Unit to W for Watts, then set the Total Heat Generation to 3.

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Click Apply.

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To verify that the heat condition is applied properly to the six chips, check the Design Study Bar.

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Then, in the graphics window, ensure that the color of the stripe on each chip now matches the Total Heat Generation color in the legend.

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With the heat dissipated by the chips properly set, the next step is to do the same for the large chip.