Flotherm

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Flomotion showing a circuit board with warm components.

Flotherm is 3D simulation software for thermal design of electronic components and systems; first released around 1990, it is a product of the British software company Flomerics. Flomerics claims that it is the top selling program in its market, with approximately a 70% share. As of 2006, the current release of the progam is version 6.1.

[edit] Description

It enables engineers to create virtual models of electronic equipment, perform thermal analysis and test design modifications in the early stages of the design process before any physical prototypes are built. The package uses CFD computational fluid dynamics techniques to predict airflow, temperature and heat transfer in components, boards and complete systems. The calculations are performed in an iterative fashion.

[edit] Use

Flotherm can be used to design a computer model of a part, as small as an individual chip or as large as a computer room, and perform a thermal analysis to show what areas get hot, how much heat is produced and dissipated, etc.... It can also perform more advanced analysis such as determining the best dimensions for a heatsink.