Thermal Resistance of a Heat Sink is Partially a Function of Its Height Reports ATS

May 18, 2012 - PRLog -- Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc., (ATS) reports, that by increasing the fin height, the heat sink’s volumetric flow increases and its thermal resistance decreases. In fact, the drop in thermal resistance continues as fin height increases.

When the heat sink fin size increases, the heat transfer coefficient and the efficiency both drop. But, because the overall surface area has increased, the net effect is a decrease in heat sink thermal resistance, and thus better cooling performance. However, the rate of this drop decreases with the increase in height. This is because the efficiency of the fins decreases as they get taller.

According to “ATS” findings, there are few choices for increasing the performance of a heat sink by adjusting the fin height. Some of the options are to select a fan with higher pressure, higher flow rate, fans in series or fans in parallel. In any of these cases, the fan and heat sink curves should be plotted to find the operating point of the system, which determines the volumetric flow rate, and hence, thermal resistance.

The thermal resistance curves can show how thermal resistance in the heat sinks changes when the fans are placed in series or parallel.  Depending on a determined pressure level, a series layout or parallel layout will produce the best thermal resistance results.

To learn more about the “ATS” studies on heat sink thermal resistance, read the series in Qpedia, the monthly thermal eMagazine published by ATS. Current and previous issues can be downloaded at: http://www.qats.com

Advanced Thermal Solutions, Inc. (ATS) is a leading-edge engineering/manufacturing company focused on the thermal management of electronics. Founded in 1989 as a consulting company, ATS has evolved to a complete thermal solutions provider and is world renown for its portfolio of more than 450 high- and ultra-performance heat sinks, research-quality test equipment, and leading-edge R&D. In the interval of three years, ATS has established its own manufacturing center in the U.S., developed strategic partnerships with Asian manufacturers and opened ATS-Europe, its sales and engineering office in Holland. As ATS has significantly increased its customer base, its product offerings have also expanded to include Advanced Fan Trays, Liquid Cooling Systems, Advanced Cooling Systems and Next-Generation Thermal Test Instruments.