When thinking of LED reliablity there are a number of issues that could arise that are strongly related to LED operating temperature. Among these issues are solder joint reliability, delamination of adhesive layers, lens degradation, Lumen maintenance, Luminous efficacy, and color output. Developing an efficient heat transfer strategy effects not only the immediate performance of the LED but also the long term (hopefully) reliability. Simulation is vital in determining which strategies work and should be optimized, and then tested. Simulation also allows the design to consider operation in more demanding environments. Because of the speed of analysis vs. prototyping and testing more designs can be analyzed and qualified for consideration for a final design.
HI John, Sharon is right but I there are a couple of points I'd like to add. There is no thermal simulation package that I am aware of that is solely dedicated to LEDs. One approach is to use CFD based software aimed at the Electronics Cooling market which would provide useful ways to model things such as PCBs and Heat sinks, as well as provide the state-of-the-art methods of including compact thermal models (CTM) of LEDs. Another approach is to use CFD based tools that leverage the existing CAD by operating directly within or side-by-side to the CAD platform. Both approaches have their advantages and I have seem both used with success.
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