Thermal Considerations; Selecting The Correct Thermal Solution For Your Application; Heat Plate; System-Level Considerations - VersaLogic Blackbird VL-EPU4562 Hardware Reference Manual

This chapter discusses the following topics related to thermal issues:

Selecting the correct thermal solution for your application


EPU-4562/4462 thermal characterization

Installing the passive (HDW-417 heat sink), the active (HDW-418 fan), and the heat pipe

block (HDW-408) thermal solutions available from VersaLogic
Selecting the Correct Thermal Solution for Your Application
This section provides guidelines for the overall system thermal engineering effort.

Heat Plate

The heat plate supplied with the Blackbird is the basis of the thermal solution. The heat plate
draws heat away from the CPU chip as well as other critical components. Some components rely
on the ambient air temperature at or below the maximum specified 85 ºC temperature.
The design of the heat plate assumes that the user's thermal solution will maintain the top surface
of the heat plate at 90 ºC or less. If that temperature threshold is maintained, the CPU will remain
safely within its operating temperature limits.
CAUTION:
By itself, the heat plate is not a complete thermal solution. Integrators should either implement a
thermal solution using the accessories available from VersaLogic or develop their own thermal
solution that attaches to the heat plate, suitable for environments in which the EPU-4562/4462
will be used. As stated above, the thermal solution must be capable of keeping the top surface of
the heat place at or below 90 ºC and the air surrounding the components in the assembly at or
below 85 ºC.
The heat plate is permanently affixed to the Blackbird and must not be removed. Removal of the
heat plate voids the product warranty. Attempting to operate the Blackbird without the heat plate
voids the product warranty and can damage the CPU.

System-level Considerations

The Blackbird is often mounted directly to another thermally controlled surface via its heat plate
(that is, the inside surface of an enclosure). In this case, the user needs to maintain the heat plate
at or below 90 ºC by controlling the mounting surface temperature. The EPU-4562/4462 thermal
solutions available from VersaLogic – the HDW-417 heat sink with or without the HDW-418
fan, or the HDW-408 heat pipe block – can be used in the user's final system or only used during
product development as a temporary bench-top solution.
The ambient air surrounding the EPU-4562/4462 needs to be maintained at 85 ºC or below. This
may prove to be challenging depending on how and where the EPU-4562/4462 is mounted in the
end user system.
VL-EPU-4562/4462 Reference Manual

Thermal Considerations

Thermal Considerations
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