A circuit board
assembly has a circuit board coupled to a
support plane and defining a space between the circuit board and the support member. A circuit board component mounts to the circuit board and is oriented within the space defined by the circuit board and the
support plane. A
heat pipe assembly, located within the defined space, has a relatively high
thermal conductivity, compared to other thermally
conductive materials, and transfers heat from the circuit board component to the
support plane or carrier tray associated with the circuit board. The
heat pipe assembly has an input portion that contacts the circuit board component and an output portion that contacts the support plane. The
heat pipe assembly also has a compliant portion having a lower stiffness relative to the stiffness of either the input portion or the output portion. The compliant portion of the heat
pipe assembly allows for displacement of the input portion relative to the output portion to limit the amount of stress generated by the heat
pipe assembly on the circuit board component.