COMe-mAL10 – User Guide, Rev. 1.3
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2.5.
Thermal Management
2.5.1.
Heatspreader Plate (HSP) Assembly and Metal Heat Slug
A heatspreader plate assembly is available for the COMe-mAL10, see Table 4: Product Specific Accessories. The
heatspreader plate assembly is NOT a heat sink. The heatspreader works as a COM Express® standard thermal
interface to be use with a heat sink or external cooling devices. External cooling must be provided to maintain the
heatspreader plate at proper operating temperatures. Under worst-case conditions, the cooling mechanism must
maintain an ambient air and heatspreader plate temperature on any spot of the heatspreader's surface according to
the module specifications:
60°C for commercial grade modules
85°C for industrial temperature grade modules (E2)
Commercial temperature grade variants have no preconfigured Intel heatspreader and the supplied metal heat slug
(packed separately in the delivery box for the heatspreader) must be installed.
Industrial temperature grade variants have a preconfigured Intel heatspreader and do not require the metal heat slug
to be installed.
For industrial temperature grade variants the CPU comes with a preconfigured heatspreader
and the supplied metal heat slug is not required.
2.5.2.
Active/Passive Cooling Solutions
Both active and passive thermal management approaches can be used with heatspreader plates. The optimum
cooling solution varies, depending on the COM Express® application and environmental conditions. Active or passive
cooling solutions provided from Kontron for the COMe-mAL10 are usually designed to cover the power and thermal
dissipation for a commercial temperature range used in housing with proper airflow. For more information
concerning possible cooling solutions, see Table 6: General COMe Accessories.
2.5.3.
Operating with Kontron Heatspreader Plate (HSP) Assembly
The operating temperature requirements are:
Maximum ambient temperature with ambient being the air surrounding the module
Maximum measurable temperature on any part on the heatspreader's surface
Table 10: Heatspreader Temperature Specifications
Temperature
Specification
Validation Requirements
Commercial Grade
at 60°C HSP temperature the CPU @ 100% load needs to run at nominal frequency
Industrial Grade (E2)
at 85°C HSP temperature the CPU @ 50% load is allowed to start throttling for
thermal protection
2.5.4.
Operating without Kontron Heatspreader Plate (HSP) Assembly
The operating temperature is the maximum measurable temperature on any spot on the module's surface.
2.5.5.
On-board Fan Connector
The module’s fan connector powers, controls and monitors a fan for chassis ventilation.
