Answers
Nov 25, 2019 - 02:20 PM
Most of the Thermal Interface Materials, this is the compound found between the chip die casing and a heatsink. TIMs are used to bridge the air gap between the die and the heatsink to allow for efficient flow of heat that would otherwise be isolated by the air gap between the die and heatsink. The majority of TIM found on air-cooled devices will be some form of hydrocarbon "greases". Unfortunately, these thermal greases quickly breakdown in our Dielectric Coolants, and will eventually be washed out of the gap thereby eliminating their ability to transfer the heat to the heat sink. If a hydrocarbon based thermal grease is used and it deteriorates into your coolant it will often discolor the coolant (making the coolant murky or cloudy), but if it is just a small amount it will often have little to no impact on the dielectric strength or performance of our Dielectric Coolants. However, this type of contamination will void the characteristics warranty of your coolant and should be avoided when at all possible.
Therefore, when using any of our Dielectric Coolants, including BitCool or ElectroCool, we strongly recommend replacing any grease based thermal interface material with any one of the following materials
NOTE: A full list of tested thermal interface materials can be found on our Material Compatibility Guide found under Support on our website.
1) Thermal Epoxy
If you are looking for a permanent solution, similar to what is used on crypto miners where the heat sink is "glued" onto the chip, we recommend using a 2-part thermal epoxy. We have had excellent success with MasterBond EP48TC and TIGA 920-H / 2-part Flexible, Silver-Filled Epoxy Adhesive by
Resin Technology Group, LLC. Both are two-part epoxies with good thermal conductivity and bonding strength.
2) Indium Foil
When you need a high-performance Thermal Transfer Interface material for servers, GPUs, and similar type devices where the heat sink can be easily removed and replaced, we recommend the use of Indium Heat Spring
3) Silicone Based Thermal Pastes and Pads
Thermal pastes and pads based on silicone formulations are generally compatible with our Dielectric Coolants if they are fully cured. Thermal pads will often absorb some fluid making them swell slightly, however this swelling rarely impacts their performance.
4) Liquid Metal TIMs
There is a new class of TIMs made from various types of high thermal density soft metals. We have tested a number of these TIMS such as: Conductonaut, by Thermal Grizzly, and Ultra Liquid by CoolLaboratory. These materials have excellent heat transfer characteristics but often have warnings regarding the types of materials that they can be used with. In particular, they are often incompatible with aluminum so be sure to read the user instructions with these materials.
Therefore, when using any of our Dielectric Coolants, including BitCool or ElectroCool, we strongly recommend replacing any grease based thermal interface material with any one of the following materials
NOTE: A full list of tested thermal interface materials can be found on our Material Compatibility Guide found under Support on our website.
1) Thermal Epoxy
If you are looking for a permanent solution, similar to what is used on crypto miners where the heat sink is "glued" onto the chip, we recommend using a 2-part thermal epoxy. We have had excellent success with MasterBond EP48TC and TIGA 920-H / 2-part Flexible, Silver-Filled Epoxy Adhesive by
Resin Technology Group, LLC. Both are two-part epoxies with good thermal conductivity and bonding strength.
2) Indium Foil
When you need a high-performance Thermal Transfer Interface material for servers, GPUs, and similar type devices where the heat sink can be easily removed and replaced, we recommend the use of Indium Heat Spring
3) Silicone Based Thermal Pastes and Pads
Thermal pastes and pads based on silicone formulations are generally compatible with our Dielectric Coolants if they are fully cured. Thermal pads will often absorb some fluid making them swell slightly, however this swelling rarely impacts their performance.
4) Liquid Metal TIMs
There is a new class of TIMs made from various types of high thermal density soft metals. We have tested a number of these TIMS such as: Conductonaut, by Thermal Grizzly, and Ultra Liquid by CoolLaboratory. These materials have excellent heat transfer characteristics but often have warnings regarding the types of materials that they can be used with. In particular, they are often incompatible with aluminum so be sure to read the user instructions with these materials.
By
For immersion cooling, use Indium foil as a Thermal Interface Material. Most pastes will dissolve in liquid coolants. This doesn't affect the thermodynamic properties, but it causes the coolant to look cloudy.
Add New Comment