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Current model: steady-state thermal resistance networks with one heat source and one ambient boundary

Thermal Path Budget Tool

Solve lumped thermal networks when geometry is unknown, vendor resistances are all you have, or you want to see which segment is really eating the temperature budget before you commit to a sink design.

Tool Purpose & Scope

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Model

`Budget ambient-side segment` uses the template's recommended ambient-facing resistance as the unknown.
Positive heat injected into the source node.
Usually ambient or inlet-air temperature.
Temperature limit applies to this node.
Used for status, margin, and sizing mode.

Segments

The tool keeps the topology restrained on purpose. Pick how each segment is defined, then let the solver carry those resistances through the network.

Results

Select a template, define the path resistances, and run the solve. The default workflow is aimed at the question "which segment is limiting the design right now?"

Network Diagram

Run a solve to render the network and highlight the hottest node and dominant drop.

Diagnosis

No diagnosis available yet.

Sensitivity

The tool sweeps the dominant segment by default so you can see how strongly the hottest node responds.

Node Temperatures

Segment Breakdown

Warnings & Recommendations

Warnings

    Recommendations

      Assumptions

        No derivations available yet.

        When this tool is a good fit

        • You know the path resistances from a datasheet, a previous test, or a rough estimate.
        • You need node temperatures and bottleneck identification before sink geometry is finalized.
        • You are comparing paths such as sink versus PCB, or interface options inside a fixed stack.

        When another tool is better

        • Use the heatsink designer when the sink geometry is known and sink-to-ambient performance is the real question.
        • Use a spreader-plate style model when in-plane spreading inside a wall or plate is likely dominant.
        • Use a transient RC model when pulse heating, startup windows, or soak time matter.

        Governing idea

        This tool uses the thermal analog of a resistor network. Each segment is reduced to a scalar thermal resistance, each node carries a temperature, and the steady-state solve enforces heat balance at every unknown node.

        $$Q_{ij} = \frac{T_i - T_j}{R_{ij}}$$
        $$\sum_j \frac{T_i - T_j}{R_{ij}} = Q_i$$