Quantifying the Effect of Thermal Contact Resistance on CPU Peak Temperature in a Laptop: A Steady-State Conduction Study

Year 2025, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 73 - 81, 22.01.2026

Cemil Koyunoğlu , Fikret Yüksel

Abstract

A steady-state thermal analysis was conducted to investigate the temperature distribution in a laptop under working conditions. The modeling considered internal heat generation from the CPU and battery, material-dependent conductivities, and surface convection. Initially, perfect thermal contact between components was assumed, neglecting interface resistance. In a second analysis, a small thermal contact resistance was introduced. Results indicated that perfect contact conditions resulted in a 71°C CPU temperature, and a 66°C enclosure surface temperature. Under imperfect contact, the CPU temperature increased tremendously. The total heat dissipated to the environment by convection was calculated to be 54.945 W. The results demonstrate the significance of thermal contact quality in thermal management of electronic systems.

Keywords

Laptop , steady-state analysis , thermal contact resistance , convection , temperature distribution.

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