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This work deals with the case of the quad flat non-lead 64 (QFN64) electronic package generating a low power range ranging from 0.01 to 0.1W. It is installed on one side of a printed circuit board (PCB) that can be inclined relative to the horizontal plane with an angle varying between 0° and 90° (horizontal and vertical positions, respectively). The surface temperature of the electronic assembly is subjected to air natural convection.

Calculations are done by means of the finite volume method for many configurations obtained by varying the generated power and the inclination angle.

The distribution of the surface temperature is determined on all the assembly areas (QFN and PCB). The study shows that the thermal behaviour of the electronic device is influenced by the generated power and the inclination angle. The 3D numerical survey leads to correlations allowing calculation of the average surface temperature in any part of the assembly, according to the power generated by the QFN64 and the inclination angle.

The proposed accurate correlations are original and unpublished. They optimize the thermal design of the electronic QFN64 package, which is increasingly used in many engineering fields.

The wire-bonded version of the quad flat non-lead with 64 leads (QFN64b) is increasingly integrated in modern arrangements, given its thermal and electrical characteristics suited for specific applications. Temperature control is thus essential for its proper operation, particularly when the heat exchange with the environment is done by natural convection. This work aims to consider a conventional assembly consisting of a large printed circuit board (PCB) on which is welded a QFN64b generating a power in the range 0.01-0.1 W. The PCB could be inclined at an angle varying between 0° and 90° (horizontal and vertical positions, respectively) according to the intended application.

The 3D numerical approach done by means of the finite volume method is complemented by thermal and electrical measurements for all the configurations numerically processed. The low deviations obtained between the calculations and the measurements validate the adopted model. These results complement recent work that considers the same assembly equipped with a tilted and low-powered QFN64 basic model subjected to free convection.

The surface temperature in any part of the assembly has been determined. The influence of the power generated by the device and the PCB’s inclination angle relative to the gravity field have been quantified. The work shows that the radiative heat transfer is negligible given the temperatures reached and that the thermal state of the considered assembly is different from the one equipped with the QFN64 basic model. The QFN’s temperature is lowered, while that of the PCB is increased. The temperature distribution is also different from that of assemblies equipped with other QFN models with and without wire-bonding.

The correlations proposed in this survey help optimize the thermal design of the QFN64b electronic package used in many engineering fields.

The purpose of this paper is to study thermal (natural) convection in nine different containers involving the same area (area= 1 sq. unit) and identical heat input at the bottom wall (isothermal/sinusoidal heating). Containers are categorized into three classes based on geometric configurations [Class 1 (square, tilted square and parallelogram), Class 2 (trapezoidal type 1, trapezoidal type 2 and triangle) and Class 3 (convex, concave and triangle with curved hypotenuse)].

The governing equations are solved by using the Galerkin finite element method for various processing fluids (Pr = 0.025 and 155) and Rayleigh numbers (10³ ≤ Ra ≤ 10⁵) involving nine different containers. Finite element-based heat flow visualization via heatlines has been adopted to study heat distribution at various sections. Average Nusselt number at the bottom wall ( Nub¯) and spatially average temperature (θ^) have also been calculated based on finite element basis functions.

Based on enhanced heating criteria (higher Nub¯ and higher θ^), the containers are preferred as follows, Class 1: square and parallelogram, Class 2: trapezoidal type 1 and trapezoidal type 2 and Class 3: convex (higher θ^) and concave (higher Nub¯).

The comparison of heat flow distributions and isotherms in nine containers gives a clear perspective for choosing appropriate containers at various process parameters (Pr and Ra). The results for current work may be useful to obtain enhancement of the thermal processing rate in various process industries.

Heatlines provide a complete understanding of heat flow path and heat distribution within nine containers. Various cold zones and thermal mixing zones have been highlighted and these zones are found to be altered with various shapes of containers. The importance of containers with curved walls for enhanced thermal processing rate is clearly established.