As embedded computing systems become more powerful, so are the challenges to protect and cool the payload. In the past few years, we have seen the power of a single board increase in most cases to over 100W per slot. To further challenge the designers, these systems are being deployed in rugged environments with a push to use COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) products. Recently, liquid-cooled systems have been developed to combat these However, there are some challenges with liquid cooling that can make this technology prohibitive. For example, not all boards are available in conduction- cooled format, or there may not be an external chiller/pump available to implement the liquid approach. So how does a designer handle an environment where there is no liquid coolant available, ambient temperatures hover around 55°C, the enclosure has a payload of 500W, and the client wants the system to operate on numerous rugged platforms (ground vehicle, rotary wing, UAV, etc.)? Oh, and the enclosure has to be sealed to protect the COTS boards from the harsh environments and EMI concerns. And with all of this, there is a desire to monitor the temperatures/ health of the system to protect the expensive payloads.

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