CFD Review  
Serving the CFD Community with News, Articles, and Discussion
 
CFD Review

User Preferences
Site Sponsorship
Headline Feeds
Mobile Edition
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
twitter

Submit a CFD Story

Site Sponsors
The Choice for CFD Meshing
Azore CFD
CFD Review

Tell a Friend
Help this site to grow by sending a friend an invitation to visit this site.

CFD News by Email
Did you know that you can get today's CFD Review headlines mailed to your inbox? Just log in and select Email Headlines Each Night on your User Preferences page.

 
Seagate Cures PC Hot Spot
Posted Sun April 16, 2006 @03:47PM
Print version Email story Tweet story
Application Seagate’s Design Service Center enlisted Coolit thermal & flow analysis software to solve a puzzling thermal problem for a customer's PC design. Though the high density power model was shoe-horned into a small, forced air-cooled cabinet, the unit's 6 cfm fan and large front vent should have been adequate to handle the heat load. But the system's hard drive was overheating.

To pinpoint the trouble source, Seagate built a Coolit model and found that, while some cooling air was making its way to the hard drive, a significant portion was not and, instead, circulating back out the intake vent. Air around the hard drive, essentially, was forming a stagnant pocket up against the top of the enclosure.


Sponsor CFD Review

Next, Seagate analyzed the impact of reducing the intake vent size. It turned out, that the original vent was much larger than required, the incoming air moved slowly with some of it finding an easy path back out the intake. Reducing the intake area reduced the opportunity for cool air to escape and increased the flow directed toward the hot components.

Finally, the company modeled the impact of exhaust vent changes. The exhaust vent was relocated to behind the hard drive and near the top of the opposite side of the enclosure. This provided an exit for the normally stagnant air and created a natural path across the hard drive and components. Baffles were added to direct air toward the hotter components before it exited.

Seagate's customer was able to introduce its product on schedule. CFD modeling identified the design changes in less than half the time required by physical prototyping. And the results were impressive. Drive temperature dropped from 70 deg C to 58 C, ensuring high system reliability.

[ Post Comment ]

CFD Programs at Grad Schools | GM Brazil Selects EnSight for Visualization  >

 

 
CFD Review Login
User name:

Password:

Create an Account

Related Links
  • Coolit
  • Seagate
  • More on Application
  • Also by nwyman
  • This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

    You will be the victim of a bizarre joke. All content except comments
    ©2022, Viable Computing.

    [ home | submit story | search | polls | faq | preferences | privacy | terms of service | rss  ]