Internet of Things (IoT)
Thermal Management solutions for IoT Applications
Thermal management is critical at each layer of the IoT "stack". Here's what the average power densities are at each macro layer, what the risks are for not managing the heat properly at a given layer, and some possible solution to be applied to cool that layer.
IoT Layers
Cloud Infrastructure
Average rack power densities:
Without Proper Thermal Management:
- Reliability of calculations
- Accuracy of big data analysis
- Potential for bit errors
Possible solutions:
M2M/Communications Infrastructure
Average rack power densities:
- 3 to 4kW per 300 users/connections
Without Proper Thermal Management:
- Slower processing
- Reduction in connections
- Increasing network latency
- Reduction in network connection reliability
Possible solutions:
Sensor and Wearable Layer
Average rack power densities:
Without Proper Thermal Management:
- No sensing detected
- Poor quality of collected data
- Sensing transmission quality bad or unreliable
- Malfunction or breakdown of equipment relying on sensor data
Possible solutions:
- Flexible heat pipes
- Standard board mounted heat sinks
- Stamped heat sinks
- Pin fin heat sinks
- Chassis as heat sink