Abstract

This study proposes a multilayer equivalent thermal analysis method, based on flow boundary layer theory, considering the computational problem of three-dimensional (3D) conjugate heat transfer analysis of a transmitting antenna cold plate. To cut down computational overhead, a stratification strategy is introduced to build an equivalent model, such that the 3D conjugate heat transfer problem can be transformed into a multilayer two-dimensional (2D) heat transfer (M2DHT) problem. For the iterative analysis of the M2DHT, the equivalent heat transfer coefficient was introduced as the link between layers. Based on the Prandtl boundary layer theory, convective heat transfer coefficients of the boundary layer with temperature-independent fluid properties were deduced, further improving the accuracy of the 2D conjugate heat transfer analysis. The multilayer equivalent analysis method addresses the shortcomings of the heat transfer coefficient calculation through tedious 3D analysis. With well-set proper convective heat boundaries configured, iterative computation via M2DHT is utilized to resolve the surface temperature field of the cold plate. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the presented approach accurately characterizes temperature distributions while substantially boosting computational efficiency in thermal evaluations of cold plates for transmitting antennas.

Keywords