Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.

Condensation Detection in an
Electronic Device
Introduction
Many systems, for example electronic devices, risk being damaged if exposed to
condensation. Given an amount of moisture in the air, condensation occurs when the
temperature decreases to reach the dew point. Numerical simulations are useful for
obtaining knowledge relevant for preventing the formation of condensation.
Changes in air properties are the primary cause of condensation in some systems. This
example simulates the thermodynamical evolution of moist air in an electronic box
with the aim of detecting whether condensation occurs when the external environment
properties change. The model imports measured data for the air temperature, pressure,
and water vapor concentration and represents it by interpolation functions. The
property data corresponds to conditions observed during a stormy day when the
temperature dropped and humidity increased.
In this simulation, you assume the water vapor concentration to be homogeneous
inside the box and equal to the external concentration. Also, the model setup neglects
diffusion but considers the external concentration changes during the simulation.

Note: An extension of this model solves for an inhomogeneous concentration

computed from the Transport of Diluted Species interface and takes transport and
diffusion of the water vapor into account, see Condensation Detection in an
Electronic Device with Transport and Diffusion. It requires the Chemical Reaction
Engineering Module.

Model Definition
A box with square cross section of side 5 cm is placed in a moist air environment. It
contains a heated electronic component and two small slits (1 mm thick) located at the
left and right sides. The simulation is in a 2D cross section of the box, which is
supposed to be long enough in the orthogonal direction. It is made of aluminum and

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the electronic component is made of silicon. Figure 1 shows the model geometry.

Figure 1: Geometry of the model.

The box is placed in a changing environment. This means that during the simulation,
temperature, pressure, and water vapor concentration change. The data provided
correspond to a storm with a fall of pressure. Figure 2 shows the temperature, pressure,
and water vapor concentration as functions of time.
In this simulation, assume the moist air concentration inside the box to be equal to the
external concentration.
Outside the box, you apply a convective cooling condition with a heat transfer
coefficient h equal to 10 W/(m2K) and a time-dependent external temperature. The
central component produces a total power of 1 W during the simulation. At the slit
boundaries, set a condition of open boundary to let external moist air freely enter or
exit from the box.

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The study computes a simulation over one day and the solution is stored every
30 minutes. The goal is to observe if some condensation appears.

Figure 2: Temperature, pressure, and water vapor concentration interpolation curves over
the course of a day.

Results and Discussion

Figure 3 shows the temperature and relative humidity profiles at the final time step.

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Figure 3: Temperature and relative humidity profiles after 24 hours.

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While the temperature gradient is not very large, the power dissipated from the
electronic component clearly influences the temperature field: it heats the surrounding
air and the walls. Cold air enters through the slits by convection. In addition, the air
inside the box is cooled by conduction through the walls. The relative humidity
depends on temperature, pressure, and moisture content. Moreover, the pressure fall
is small enough to consider the relative humidity to be primarily influenced by
temperature and concentration. The relative humidity maximum is located where the
temperature is the lowest but also where the water vapor concentration is the highest.

Figure 4: Maximum relative humidity over time inside the box.

Figure 4 represents the evolution of the maximum relative humidity inside the box
over the simulation period. This curve reaches a maximum of 100%, meaning that
condensation occurs. A Boolean condensation indicator is inserted in order to
distinguish the exact condensation period. The condensation indicator is set to 1 when
condensation is detected (relative humidity equals 1) and to 0 otherwise.

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Model Library path: Heat_Transfer_Module/

Power_Electronics_and_Electronic_Cooling/
condensation_electronic_device

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.
NEW

1 In the New window, click the Model Wizard button.

MODEL WIZARD

1 In the Model Wizard window, click the 2D button.

2 In the Select physics tree, select Heat Transfer>Conjugate Heat Transfer>Laminar Flow
(nitf).
3 Click the Add button.
4 Click the Study button.
5 In the tree, select Preset Studies>Time Dependent.
6 Click the Done button.
GEOMETRY 1

Import 1
1 On the Home toolbar, click Import.
2 In the Import settings window, locate the Import section.
3 Click the Browse button.
4 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
condensation_electronic_device.mphbin.

5 Click the Import button.

The imported geometry is represented in Figure 1.

MATERIALS

A material is only needed on the solid part as the fluid part is going to be defined at
the feature level through the moist air functionality.

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1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Material.

ADD MATERIAL

1 Go to the Add Material window.

2 In the tree, select Built-In>Aluminum.
3 In the Add material window, click Add to Component.
MATERIALS

Aluminum
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1>Materials click Aluminum.
2 Select Domains 1 and 3 only.
ADD MATERIAL

1 Go to the Add Material window.

2 In the tree, select Built-In>Silica glass.
3 In the Add material window, click Add to Component.
MATERIALS

Silica glass
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1>Materials click Silica glass.
2 Select Domain 4 only.
DEFINITIONS

This part is dedicated to defining the interpolation function of external temperature,

pressure and water vapor concentration. The use of piecewise cubic interpolation
smooths the curves between measurement points.

Interpolation 1
1 On the Home toolbar, click Functions and choose Global>Interpolation.
2 In the Interpolation settings window, locate the Definition section.
3 From the Data source list, choose File.
4 Find the Functions subsection. Click the Browse button.
5 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
condensation_electronic_device_temperature_data.txt.

6 Click the Import button.

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7 In the Function name edit field, type T_ext.

8 Locate the Interpolation and Extrapolation section. From the Interpolation list,

choose Piecewise cubic.

9 Locate the Units section. In the Arguments edit field, type s.
10 In the Function edit field, type K.
11 Click the Plot button.

This figure should look like the left curve of Figure 2.

Interpolation 2
1 On the Home toolbar, click Functions and choose Global>Interpolation.
2 In the Interpolation settings window, locate the Definition section.
3 From the Data source list, choose File.
4 Find the Functions subsection. Click the Browse button.
5 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
condensation_electronic_device_pressure_data.txt.

6 Click the Import button.

7 In the Function name edit field, type p_ext.
8 Locate the Interpolation and Extrapolation section. From the Interpolation list,

choose Piecewise cubic.

9 Locate the Units section. In the Arguments edit field, type s.
10 In the Function edit field, type Pa.
11 Click the Plot button.

This figure should look like the bottom graph in Figure 2.

Next, define probes for the maximum relative humidity and the condensation indicator
at the solver time steps.

Interpolation 3
1 On the Home toolbar, click Functions and choose Global>Interpolation.
2 In the Interpolation settings window, locate the Definition section.
3 From the Data source list, choose File.
4 Find the Functions subsection. Click the Browse button.
5 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
condensation_electronic_device_concentration_data.txt.

6 Click the Import button.

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7 In the Function name edit field, type c_ext.

8 Locate the Interpolation and Extrapolation section. From the Interpolation list,

choose Piecewise cubic.

9 Locate the Units section. In the Arguments edit field, type s.
10 In the Function edit field, type mol/m^3.
11 Click the Plot button.

This figure should look like the bottom curve of Figure 2.

Then, two probes are defined in order to get the maximum relative humidity and
the condensation indicator at the solver time steps.
12 On the Definitions toolbar, click Probes and choose Domain Probe.
13 In the Domain Probe settings window, locate the Source Selection section.
14 Click Clear Selection.
15 Select Domain 2 only.
16 Locate the Probe Settings section. From the Type list, choose Maximum.
17 Locate the Expression section. In the Expression edit field, type nitf.phi.
18 On the Definitions toolbar, click Probes and choose Domain Probe.
19 In the Domain Probe settings window, locate the Source Selection section.
20 Click Clear Selection.
21 Select Domain 2 only.
22 Locate the Probe Settings section. From the Type list, choose Maximum.
23 Locate the Expression section. In the Expression edit field, type nitf.condInd.
C O N J U G A T E H E A T TR A N S F E R

Fluid 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1>Conjugate Heat Transfer click Fluid
1.
2 Select Domain 2 only.
3 In the Fluid settings window, locate the Model Inputs section.
4 Clear the Reference pressure check box.
5 Locate the Thermodynamics section. From the Fluid type list, choose Moist air.
6 From the Input quantity list, choose Concentration.
7 Locate the Model Inputs section. In the c edit field, type c_ext(t).

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Initial Values 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1>Conjugate Heat Transfer click Initial
Values 1.
2 In the Initial Values settings window, locate the Initial Values section.
3 In the p edit field, type p_ext(0).
4 In the T edit field, type T_ext(0).

Convective Heat Flux 1

1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Convective Heat Flux.
2 Select Boundaries 1, 2, 5, 7, 21, and 23 only.
3 In the Convective Heat Flux settings window, locate the Heat Flux section.
4 In the h edit field, type 10.
5 In the Text edit field, type T_ext(t).

Heat Source 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Heat Source.
2 Select Domain 4 only.
3 In the Heat Source settings window, locate the Heat Source section.
4 Click the Total power button.
5 In the Ptot edit field, type 1.

Open Boundary 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Open Boundary.
2 Select Boundaries 3 and 22 only.
3 In the Open Boundary settings window, locate the Boundary Condition section.
4 In the f0 edit field, type p_ext(t).
5 Locate the Exterior Temperature section. In the T0 edit field, type T_ext(t).
MESH 1

Size
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 right-click Mesh 1 and choose Edit
Physics-Induced Sequence.
2 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1>Mesh 1 click Size.
3 In the Size settings window, locate the Element Size section.
4 From the Predefined list, choose Coarse.

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STUDY 1

Step 1: Time Dependent

1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Time Dependent.
2 In the Time Dependent settings window, locate the Study Settings section.
3 From the Time unit list, choose h.
4 Click the Range button.
5 Go to the Range dialog box.
6 In the Step edit field, type 0.5.
7 In the Stop edit field, type 24.
8 Click the Replace button.

Solver 1
1 On the Study toolbar, click Show Default Solver.
2 In the Model Builder window, expand the Study 1>Solver Configurations>Solver
1>Time-Dependent Solver 1 node, then click Fully Coupled 1.
3 In the Fully Coupled settings window, click to expand the Method and termination

section.
4 Locate the Method and Termination section. From the Jacobian update list, choose On
every iteration.

Because the problem is nonlinear, updating the Jacobian at every iteration yields
faster resolution.
5 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1>Solver Configurations>Solver 1 click
Time-Dependent Solver 1.
6 In the Time-Dependent Solver settings window, click to expand the Time stepping

section.
7 Locate the Time Stepping section. Select the Maximum step check box.
8 In the associated edit field, type 0.25.

Because the temperature and pressure variations can be quick, imposing a reduced
time step helps to capture all curve variations.
9 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.
RESULTS

Velocity (nitf)
The first default plot shows the velocity profile at the last time step.

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Temperature (nitf)
The second default plot represents the temperature profile at the last time step, as
shown in the top panel of Figure 3.

2D Plot Group 4
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 2D Plot Group.
2 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click 2D Plot Group 4 and choose
Surface.
3 In the Surface settings window, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner of

the Expression section. From the menu, choose Conjugate Heat Transfer (Laminar
Flow)>Relative humidity (nitf.phi).
4 On the 2D plot group toolbar, click Plot.

Compare with the relative humidity profile in the bottom panel of Figure 3.
5 In the Model Builder window, right-click 2D Plot Group 4 and choose Rename.
6 Go to the Rename 2D Plot Group dialog box and type Relative Humidity in the
New name edit field.
7 Click OK.

Probe 1D Plot Group 3

Follow the steps below to reproduce the relative humidity evolution shown in
Figure 4.
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Probe 1D Plot Group 3 and

choose Rename.
2 Go to the Rename 1D Plot Group dialog box and type Maximum Relative Humidity

in the New name edit field.

3 Click OK.

Maximum Relative Humidity

1 In the Table Graph settings window, click to expand the Legends section.
2 Select the Show legends check box.
3 From the Legends list, choose Manual.
4 In the table, enter the following settings:
Legends
Maximum Relative Humidity - Study 1
Condensation Indicator - Study 1

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5 In the Model Builder window, click Maximum Relative Humidity.

6 In the 1D Plot Group settings window, click to expand the Legend section.
7 From the Position list, choose Lower right.
8 Click to expand the Window settings section. Locate the Window Settings section.

From the Plot window list, choose Graphics.

9 On the 1D plot group toolbar, click Plot.

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