In high-temperature environments, the thermal management design of custom power strips requires a comprehensive approach encompassing material selection, structural optimization, integrated heat dissipation technologies, and intelligent monitoring to ensure stable operation and reliability under extreme conditions.
Material selection is fundamental to thermal management. Custom power strips must utilize high-temperature resistant materials, such as PCB substrates with high Tg values (glass transition temperatures). These materials maintain structural stability at high temperatures, preventing deformation or cracking due to thermal expansion. Simultaneously, key components such as power devices and power management chips must be selected for their high-temperature resistance, and their packaging materials must possess low thermal resistance to reduce heat accumulation within the components. Furthermore, solder selection is crucial; high-temperature resistant solder prevents circuit breaks caused by solder melting at high temperatures.
Structural optimization is key to improving heat dissipation efficiency. The PCB layout of custom power strips must adhere to the principle of "heat source dispersion," evenly distributing high-power components such as processors and power devices across the board surface to avoid localized overheating. Additionally, increasing copper foil thickness and expanding the copper area beneath heat sources can improve the PCB's thermal conductivity. For multilayer boards, proper allocation of inner-layer copper foil ensures the continuity of heat conduction paths and avoids heat accumulation due to interlayer thermal resistance. Furthermore, employing a thermal via array design, by increasing the number of vias and optimizing their distribution, accelerates heat conduction from the top to the bottom layers.
Integrated heat dissipation technology is the core of thermal management. For high-power-density custom power strips, a combination of passive and active cooling is a common strategy. For passive cooling, the heatsink design must balance heat dissipation area and volume, using materials with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum or copper, and increasing the contact area with air through fin structures. Active cooling relies on fan or heat pipe technology. Fans accelerate heat dissipation through forced convection, while heat pipes utilize the phase change principle to conduct heat from the heat source to a heatsink further away. In extreme high-temperature environments, although liquid cooling technology carries the risk of leakage, its high efficiency in heat dissipation is still adopted by some custom power strips, especially in applications with stringent heat dissipation requirements.
Intelligent monitoring and protection mechanisms are the last line of defense in thermal management. Custom power strips need to integrate temperature sensors to monitor temperature changes of critical components in real time. When the temperature approaches the safe threshold, the system can automatically trigger protection mechanisms, such as reducing power output, adjusting fan speed, or activating heat pipe cooling, to prevent further temperature increases. Furthermore, over-temperature alarm circuits and emergency shutdown protection functions can immediately cut off power when the temperature exceeds limits, avoiding component damage or fire risks.
Simulation verification and experimental testing are crucial steps in ensuring the effectiveness of the thermal management design. Computer simulation technologies, such as CFD flow field analysis and finite element thermal analysis, can simulate the temperature distribution and heat flow paths of custom power strips under different operating conditions, identifying potential thermal problems in advance. Experimental testing uses methods such as thermal imaging and temperature cycling experiments to verify the accuracy of simulation results and evaluate the reliability of the power strip under long-term high-temperature environments.
The thermal management design of custom power strips must balance economy and manufacturability. While meeting heat dissipation requirements, material costs and processing technologies must be optimized to ensure the feasibility of the design. For example, modular design, integrating heat dissipation components with the power module, can reduce assembly steps and costs; using standardized heat dissipation components can reduce procurement and maintenance costs.
