Per the calculations in the document, we will need a fairly intensive cooling solution for a few of the lights.
Heatsink thermal resistance requirements can be found below:
Lights Board | Thermal Resistance of Heatsink Required (deg C / W) |
|---|---|
DRLs | 2.76 |
Rear High Mounted Brake Light | 8.91 |
Rear Stop Lamp | 8.91 |
Side Turn Indicator | 16.81 |
Front Turn Indicator | 8.41 |
Rear Turn Indicator | 8.41 |
BPS Strobe | 9.65 |
We will use this thermal adhesive to stick the heatsink (or heat pipe) to the lights boards: https://www.amazon.ca/MG-Chemicals-Thermally-Conductive-Adhesive-Fast/dp/B07D18R5Z5
Cree has amazing documentation on their lights and thermal performance and design in the pages linked on this page: https://www.cree.com/led-components/products/xlamp-leds-discrete/xlamp-xp-e2
Some useful terms explained here: https://ctherm.com/products/tci_thermal_conductivity/helpful_links_tools/thermal_resistance_thermal_conductance/
Heat pipes are used to move heat. Because of some of the small space constrained applications, we might need to use some (and I kind of want to have an excuse to use them).
There are some great resources below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5CQsBWKtOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezb3qRq3ACc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKrdJpDSowY
Using the heat pipes and find from a PC CPU cooler might be a good option, provided we can rearrange and re-bend the heat pipes to our desired locations, etc.