Numerical analysis of thermal performance in semi-enclosed electronics: investigating active and passive cooling techniques for SSD-driven single-board devices

Abstract

Effective thermal management is critical for the stable operation of high-power single-board computers (SBCs), particularly in semi-enclosed environments with limited airflow. This study investigates and compares two Solid-State Drive (SSD) cooling strategies: conduction combined with natural convection, and forced convection using a heat sink. Results demonstrate that the conduction-based method reduces chip junction and package temperatures by approximately 4 °C compared to the forced convection setup, while the chassis shell temperature experiences only a marginal increase (∼0.2 °C), indicating efficient localized heat transfer. Airflow analysis reveals that forced convection achieves higher maximum velocity (0.55 m/s), but the flow is concentrated near the fan outlet, reducing its overall effectiveness. In contrast, the conduction model sustains a more stable pressure distribution, with a significantly higher average internal air pressure (8.73 Pa vs. 0.018 Pa), enhancing heat dissipation. Although the 7-fin heat sink design achieves a high fin efficiency of 0.9825, it is less effective overall due to limited airflow distribution. The conduction model also exhibits a substantially higher heat transfer coefficient, reinforcing its thermal superiority. These findings highlight the limitations of forced convection in constrained environments and demonstrate the effectiveness of conduction-driven cooling for SSDs in compact, low-airflow systems, offering valuable insights for future thermal design strategies in embedded computing applications.

Keywords

• Single-board computers
• Conduction cooling
• Forced convection
• Solid-state drive