Remote terminal unit (RTU) supporting elevated operating temperature and reduced power consumption

A system comprising:

• one or more industrial control and automation field devices;
• and
• a remote terminal unit (RTU) comprising:
• a housing, at least a portion of the housing comprising a shell of thermally-conductive material;
• at least one circuit board assembly comprising at least one processing device configured to communicate with the one or more field devices via one or more input/output (I/O) channels, the at least one circuit board assembly positioned within the shell;
• a heat sink configured to remove thermal energy from the at least one processing device;
• and
• a thermal pad configured to receive the thermal energy from the heat sink and to provide the thermal energy to the shell;
• wherein the at least one circuit board assembly comprises (i) a first circuit board assembly comprising the one or more I/O channels, (ii) a second circuit board assembly comprising the at least one processing device, and (iii) a third circuit board assembly configured to be physically connected to the first and second circuit board assemblies.

A method comprising:

• operating at least one processing device on at least one circuit board assembly of a remote terminal unit (RTU), the at least one circuit board assembly positioned within a housing of the RTU, at least a portion of the housing comprising a shell of thermally-conductive material;
• using the at least one processing device, communicating with one or more industrial control and automation field devices via one or more input/output (I/O) channels;
• removing thermal energy from the at least one processing device using a heat sink;
• and
• receiving the thermal energy from the heat sink at a thermal pad and providing the thermal energy from the thermal pad to the shell;
• wherein the at least one circuit board assembly comprises (i) a first circuit board assembly comprising the one or more I/O channels, (ii) a second circuit board assembly comprising the at least one processing device and (iii) a third circuit board assembly configured to be physically connected to the first and second circuit board assemblies.