Aerospace enclosures and avionics panels

Aerospace enclosures design must face up to all the issues that challenge the survivability of aerospace electronics, of which thermal management has the greatest influence on electronics reliability.

Roughly every 10-degree Celsius increase in temperature during continuous operation cuts electronics reliability in half. Thermal fatigue is caused by variation in temperature.

Enclosures housing avionics panels are tools for thermal management along with air cooling, with or without the use of fans. Chips used in rugged servers sense their operating temperatures and throttle back performance when they get too hot.

Hermetic titanium enclosures

Hermetic titanium enclosures now employ brazing joints which help improve thermal properties.

Heat sinks are added to the hermetic titanium enclosures. This can reduce internal heat by as much as 50%. The position and shape of the heat sinks can be changed to match hot spots in any particular application.

The housings keep sensitive electronics in an inert atmosphere and are aimed at harsh applications.

Titanium has, in any case, poor thermal conductivity but has ideal mechanical properties. It is, for example, three times stiffer than aluminium. Using this new method, Aluminium enclosures are being replaced by titanium.

Military specifications are stringent for resistance to humidity, fungal growth, salt, sand and dust, shock and vibration and for custom enclosures that operate in these conditions.