How Customization Affects Copper Heat Pipes

The data for the thermal conductivity that is published ranges from ten thousand to one hundred thousand W/m.K. This figure is between 250 and 500 times solid copper or aluminum thermal conductivity. 

These numbers are not reliable for most electronic applications. The conductivity of copper heat pipes varies greatly with the length of the heatpipes and to some degree with evaporator and condenser sizes, and the amount of transported power.

Heatpipes that are approximately 100 mm in length can achieve 10,000 W/m.K of thermal conductivity. A 200 mm length yields less than 33 percent of the 100,000 W/m.K thermal maximum that is typically published.

The calculation of the effective lengths of heatpipes is a function of the adiabatic condenser and evaporator lengths. The specified performance data for heatpipes is adequate for most standard applications but is limited for specific use.

The customization of heatpipes markedly affects performance and operational characteristics. Changing the internal structure of heatpipes, such as their wick thickness and porosity, allows tuning of heatpipes to meet specific performance features and operating parameters.

When the given heatpipe diameter needs to operate against gravity or at a higher power load, there needs to be an increase in the wick's capillary pressure. Higher power handling capacities require a larger pore radius.

To effectively work against gravity requires a smaller pore radius or increased wick thickness. Suppliers who specialize in the customization of heatpipes frequently use formulated copper powders or individual mandrels to meet the requirements of the product application.

Size is generally the most important factor with heatpipes. However, outward design changes such as bending or flattening degrade the performance of heatpipes. Gravity also has an influence. Copper heat pipes are capable of being flattened between 30 to 60 percent of their diameter.

The two significant performance limits for the application of heatpipes is the vapor limit and the wick limit. Flattening heatpipes alone does not degrade performance. Performance depends on the amount of excess vapor space available before heatpipes are flattened.

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The Need for LED Heatsinks

Not producing heat is frequently an advantage listed by LED users. That statement is only partially correct. A LED  feels cool to the touch because it does not produce infrared radiation (IR) heat. Without IR, a LED can be placed in areas that other heat sources would be problematic such as illuminating food, reef tank lights, and grow lights.

Though a LED feels cool to the touch, there is unwanted heat within the device. Inefficient semiconductors generate light and heat. Sixty to 95 percent of the power output is lost as heat. What is the solution to the excess internal heat?

LED Junction Temperature Management

It is crucial to use efficient thermal management to remove heat from high-power LEDs. Without good heatsinks, the internal temperature of LED junctions rises. The increased temperature causes the LED characteristics to go from good to bad. 

As junction temperature increases the lumen output and forward voltage decrease. Not only is the efficiency and brightness of a LED decreased, but the junction temperature affects the lifespan of a LED.  Catastrophic failure is not the usual outcome, but it can be.

Typically, the LED lumen output decreases over time. A higher junction temperature leads to faster deterioration. For that reason, LED junction temperature must be kept low. Using more current than rated drives the temperature high enough to cause permanent damage.

Heatsinks are necessary to LED lighting because they provide a path for heat to travel from a light source to an element on the outside. Heatsinks dissipate power in three ways.

Radiation - Heat is transferred from two bodies, having different temperatures, via thermal radiation.

Convection – Heat is transferred from a solid to a fluid that is moving, usually air.

Conduction – A solid to solid heat transfer occurs.

Materials Used for LED Heatsinks 

The thermal conductivity of LED heatsinks directly affects the heat dissipation efficiency. The price point of copper makes it a good choice. Aluminum is more widely used than copper. The majority of LED heatsinks are made of aluminum. Smaller LEDs can use thermoplastic heatsinks because the heat dissipation requirements are lower.

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Look to Cooling Source as One of the Heatsink Manufacturers That Provide Custom Heatsinks

Cooling Source is one of the heatsink manufacturers that make custom heatsinks. Below is a list of heatsinks the company designs. The heatsinks presented here are only a sample of custom heatsink manufacturers by Cooling Source

Custom aluminum heat sinks are used at nearly every level of electronic cooling because the cost of tooling is low. Cooling Source designs custom aluminum extrusions that are suitable for forced air and natural convection environments.

Die casting heat sinks is a method used by Cooling Source to design custom aluminum heat sinks. The manufacturing process forces liquid aluminum that is under high pressure into steel molds that can be reused. This solution is frequently used when a design calls for low thermal conductivity and high volume.

As one of Livermore, CA's leading heatsink manufacturers, Cooling Source makes custom bonded fin heat sinks. Applications for this type of heat sink include motor drives, variable speed motor controls, and uninterruptible power supplies.

Industries such as transportation, renewable energy, laser and optics, power electronics, medical equipment, and military and space look to heatsink manufacturers for cooling solutions. The custom cold plate options offered by Cooling Source include passive and active cooling solutions. The thermal performance needed dictates the method of manufacturing. For various applications, the methods used include copper brazed, aluminum-vacuumed brazed, machine-path water blocks, epoxy joint, and press-fit copper tubes.

A progressive stamping method is used in the creation of folded fin heat sinks. The fins are bonded to a base with metallurgical bonds such as welding, brazing, or epoxy that are thermally conductive. Folded fin heat sinks combine copper and aluminum to tailor heat sink performance for particular applications.

High conductivity copper is used when heat must be spread over large heat sink bases. When the spread of heat over a large surface is not necessary, low cost and weight aluminum is used by heatsink manufacturers. Common applications requiring folded fin heat sinks are automotive electronics, telecommunications, and power models that require high-density cooling.

Cooling Source makes skived fin heat sinks by literally shaving fins up from an extruded copper or aluminum base. A high fin-to-gap aspect ratio is created by slicing the fins then standing them up individually. Uniform height is maintained by cutting the fin tops. The increased surface area makes a drastic improvement in the thermal performance in environments of forced airflow.

Cooling systems is a one-stop shop for engineered, prototyped, and manufactured thermal solutions. The cutting-edge solutions are backed by knowledgeable engineers and first class customer service. Call them at 952-292-1293.

For further details about heatsink manufacturers and custom heatsinks please visit the website.

Disputing the Effectiveness of Aluminum Over Copper Heatsinks and Praising BGA Heat Sink

A base plate made of copper offers some advantages over aluminum such as transferring heat faster. Because copper retains heat longer, some are of the opinion that a copper base plate at the bottom of an aluminum heatsink is the ideal design because aluminum will transfer heat away from a central processing unit (CPU).

Forced convection is used when heat is released to ambient air. Forced convection efficiency depends on the temperature of the heatsink surface and air velocity. The heatsink material is irrelevant. To say heat is released better in aluminum rather than copper heatsinks is incorrect.

The only thing that matters regarding cooling effect is the temperature of the heatsink that is touched. While aluminum heatsinks are heating and releasing heat in the air, copper heatsinks absorb the energy and stay cooler. A cooler heatsink is best for the CPU.

When in use, the CPU continuously produces heat. The capacity of any heatsink to absorb energy is exhausted quickly. To dissipate heat steadily, both aluminum and copper heatsinks have to reach the same pin temperature. The thermal conductivity of the heatsink is all that matters. The temperature delta of a copper heatsink is smaller, resulting in a cooler CPU.

Copper round BGA heat sinks are highly efficient. They have an ideal omnidirectional flow and convection environment. BGA heat sinks mount with mounting clips or thermal tape to provide optimal cooling for packages over various sizes and airflow.

The high-efficiency BGA heat sinks install easily and have no complex assembly or special board modifications. The heat sinks are made of oxygen-free copper for optimal heat transfer. BGA heat sinks drastically increase gate count, chip input and output, chip size, power consumption, and operating frequency.

For further details about copper heatsinks and bga heat sinks please visit the website.

Copper Heat Pipes are Designed as Heatpipes for Military and Commercial Use

Military and commercial designers of heatpipes turn to copper heat pipes that use water as the working fluid for superior power density capacity. The choice is made without regard to gravity or orientation. The copper heat pipes are specifically designed for thermal challenges presented by gravity or high-heat loads.

Long life and reliability are critical. The copper heat pipes have a wick structure made of sintered copper powder that flawlessly operates against gravity and is tough enough to withstand temperatures from -55° C to 180° C and numerous freeze-thaw cycles.

With water as the working fluid, heat moves smoothly through the heatpipes from its source to the point where it is effectively managed through air or liquid dissipation or radiated to space. The heatpipes are integrated into a cold plate or heat sink to improve efficiency and conductivity.

The overall system performance is improved. The integration is accomplished through mechanical, solder, or epoxy interference. Copper heat pipes can last over 20 years. Copper heat pipes transfer heat more evenly than solid copper because they total thermal resistance is lower.

Both planar and cylindrical heatpipe variants have inner surfaces lined with capillary wicking material. Copper heat pipes are extremely effective in high-thermal conductivity. Solid copper conductivity ranges somewhere between 250 to 1500 Watts per meter Kelvin. Heatpipes range from 5000 to 200,000 W/m.K.

A small quantity of water fills the heatpipes. Vaporizing water absorbs the heat. Heat is transported by the vapor to the condenser region. There, the condensed vapor releases the heat to a cooling medium. The condensed water returns to the evaporator by gravity or the heatpipe wick structure. Capillary action is created.

A liquid-vapor phase change occurs in two-phase heat transfer. Passive capillary driven heatpipes are the most common of two-phase systems. Passive two-phase heat transfer devices have been designed, developed, and manufactured since 1970.

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Cooling Source Designs and Manufactures Various Heat Sinks, Including BGA Heat Sinks for Bonded Grid Arrays

Cooling Source is faced with the challenges of increasing performance demands and miniaturization of electronics. Heat dissipation is an issue for both challenges. If heat dissipation were not necessary, all electronic devices would run faster.

As it stands, without heat dissipation, devices fail, overheat, and are unreliable. Heat dissipation is needed to produce reliable devices with long life and acceptable performance. Tablets and smartphones get around heat dissipation because they use little power and heat is not an important issue.

Attaching a heat sink is a method of removing heat. Heatsinks enable heat to dissipate from the hot surface of a component that generates heat to a medium like air that is cooler and ambient. The least effective transfer in most situations is through the interface between the coolant air and the hot component.

Placing a heatsink on the hot surface increases the surface area and improves the heat transfer. The heat sink usually has fins that have direct air contact. More heat is dissipated, and the component operating temperature is lowered. Maintaining the device temperature below the manufacturer's recommended maximum is the main purpose served with heatsinks.

Choosing the Appropriate Heat Sink 

In the selection of heatsinks, various parameters must be considered, and calculations performed that affect the heat sink performance as well as the performance of the overall system. Thermal performance is affected by the natural convection air flow or air flow forced using fans. The method of heat sink attachment such as thermal tape or past also affects thermal performance.

Types of Heat Sinks 

The available variety of applications includes fabricated fin, board or surface mount, extruded, or BGA heat sinks. They come in a variety of fixing methods, performance levels, and sizes.

Board or surface mount heat sinks are mounted to both the device and the printed circuit board. They are usually constructed as an extrusion or stamping. They are designed for common packaging.

Extruded heatsinks have two-dimensional profiles that can dissipate large heat loads. They are cut, machined, or have added options. Cross-cutting produces omnidirectional pin fin heat sinks, rectangular in shape. Incorporated serrated fins improve the performance.

BGA heat sinks are given the name because they are mounted to bonded grid arrays. BGA heat sinks are simple extrusions. They are typically crosscut to convert extruded pins into pins that can be used in more diverse applications having bonded grid arrays.

Cooling Source has supplied heat sinks to the electronic industry since 2004. The company offers a comprehensive range of heat sinks. Cooling Source designs and manufactures heatsinks that supply many of the electronic industry's specified components. As proof of recognition as a dynamic company, Cooling Source has earned ISO9001 and ISO14001 certification.

For further detail about heatsink manufacturers and custom heatsinks to visit the website.

Heat Pipes Used for Vertical Enclosure Air Flow Patterns

Exploration of ways to increase the density of devices and boards inside electronic enclosures while keeping internal temperature to a minimum continues.The designs, cabinet sizes, and enclosures of today vary substantially in heights and widths. Heights can be seven feet tall. They do have a common thread. The density and heat load inside the electronics are increasing. Thoughtful heat exchanger selection in relation to internal cabinet air flow patterns is required to properly cool the internal electronics

Natural convection works only when there are a few heat-generating components. If air circulation is improved by opening cabinet doors or if air is moved through the cabinet by high-powered fans, then debris, vermin, and dust contamination are less likely. Using cold plates or air-to-liquid heat exchangers are not viable alternatives. Unwelcome condensate, close in proximity to electronic components, may be introduced.

Alternatives, ideally suited for designs of modern enclosures exist. Heat transfer and air flow are optimized inside electronic enclosures by using two air flow paths. There is a horizontal and vertical air flow pattern. Either impingement cores or heat pipes are selected. Both technologies maintain a water tight and dust tight seal.

Heatpipes are the heat exchangers used for vertical air flow. Heat pipes use a unique capillary action that provide thermal conductivity that is extremely effective. The heatpipes can be planar or cylindrical. The surface inside the heat pipes is lined with capillary wicking material. Heatpipes are evacuated and back-filled with small amounts of working fluid such as methanol, acetone, or water. Vapors carry heat to the area where the vapor is condensed. Heat is released to the cooling media. Gravity pumps the condensed working fluid back to the evaporation side.

Heatpipes are passive heat transfer systems.They require no additional energy source or pump that will wear out.

For further detail about folded fin heat sinks and bonded fin heatsinks to visit the website.