Design and Testing of Heat Pipe Based Cooling Solution for Efficient Thermal Management of FPGA on Space Application

Centum Electronic Limited, Banglore, Karnatak, 560106

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

The rapid advancement of high-density electronics, such as Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), requires efficient thermal management to ensure optimal performance, especially in space applications, where conventional cooling methods like convection are not feasible. This paper explores the challenges of heat dissipation in FPGA devices in space environments, where conduction and radiation are relied upon for heat management. A heat pipe assembly was designed to transfer 30W of power dissipation from the FPGA heat source to the housing.Two configurations were tested: one with a heat sink containing embedded heat pipes and another with a standard heat sink. These were evaluated under different base plate temperatures. Additionally, a high-temperature thermo-vacuum test simulated space conditions, testing the heat pipe assembly's performance in extreme temperatures and vacuum. The results showed that the heat pipe assembly was significantly more effective than the standard heat sink in managing heat dissipation, successfully transferring 30W of heat while maintaining stable temperatures even in harsh conditions.This highlights the potential of heat pipe technology as a reliable thermal solution for space applications, where conventional methods fail.