Heat Sink Blog

Heat Pipe Heat Sink Design

Heat Pipe Heat Sink Design

Different heat pipe heat sink design can have very different performance and cost implications. Here we compare 1) heat pipes embedded in either aluminum or copper, 2) heat pipes making direct contact with the heat source, and both standard and 3D vapor chambers.

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Vapor Chamber vs Heat Pipe

Vapor Chamber vs Heat Pipe

In the battle of two-phase devices, vapor chamber vs heat pipe, there’s no clear winner. Each has attributes that make one superior to the other. This article covers differences in two-phase devices and usage rules of thumb. See these heat pipe and vapor chamber links...

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Heat Sink Design Options

Heat Sink Design Options

This article compares heat sink design options, including solid metal bases, embedded heat pipes, and vapor chambers. It provides engineers with insights into thermal performance, weight, and cost trade-offs to aid in selecting the optimal heat sink configuration for electronic applications.

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Heat Sink Types

Heat Sink Types

This article provides an overview of different heat sink types, including passive, active, two-phase, and manufacturing variations. It serves as a resource for engineers seeking to understand and select appropriate heat sink solutions for effective thermal management in electronic applications.

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The Truth About Ultra-Thin Heat Pipe Vapor Chambers

The Truth About Ultra-Thin Heat Pipe Vapor Chambers

Thin and ultra-thin heat pipe vapor chambers offer excellent choices for space-constrained applications where heat needs to be moved to a remote location or spread quickly to a larger heat sink surface area. However, mechanical engineers should be mindful of the...

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Types of Heat Pipes

Types of Heat Pipes

Design & best uses of standard heat pipes, vapor chambers, thermosyphons, as well as variable conductance, loop, rotating, & oscillating heat pipes.

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How Do Heat Pipes Work | Heat Pipes 101

How Do Heat Pipes Work | Heat Pipes 101

This article covers how heat pipes and vapor chambers work along with typical uses and configuration options.  Further, it is designed to be a quick read with links to detailed information throughout the text. How Do Heat Pipes Work? There are three ‘parts’ to a heat...

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Heat Pipe Thermal Conductivity

Heat Pipe Thermal Conductivity

Knowing heat pipe thermal conductivity is important when performing Excel or CFD modeling of two-phase devices integrated into a heat sink assembly. In theory, heat pipe thermal conductivity can range from 4,000 to 100,000 W/m-K. In reality, the range for electronics...

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Heat Pipe Design Guide

Heat Pipe Design Guide

Heat pipe best practices, usage scenarios, rules of thumb, and heat sink integration tips are presented in the heat pipe design guide.

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Heat Pipe Calculator Use Instructions

Heat Pipe Calculator Use Instructions

 Our online heat pipe calculator provides the following heat pipe performance data: heat pipe thermal conductivity by diameter, heat pipe carrying capacity (Qmax) by diameter & orientation, and delta-T from one end of the heat pipe to the other. From this last...

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Heat Sink Thermal Resistance Calculator Instructions

Heat Sink Thermal Resistance Calculator Instructions

This article offers detailed instructions for utilizing Celsia’s heat sink thermal resistance calculator. It guides engineers through inputting power, material, and airflow parameters to estimate temperature rise and compare thermal resistance between solid metal and vapor chamber base designs.

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Heat Pipes & Vapor Chambers – What’s the Difference?

Heat Pipes & Vapor Chambers – What’s the Difference?

  Most thermal engineers are going to need a two-phase heat sink using either heat pipes or vapor chambers on numerous projects with which they are involved.  Reasons include:  Keep out zones that prohibit a larger heat sink (thicker base, added fin area, etc.) ...

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Vapor Chamber Cooling Design Guide

Vapor Chamber Cooling Design Guide

 Electronics cooling using a vapor chamber is a fairly common design choice. This vapor chamber design guide is for the most prevalent types of applications: CPU/ASIC to amplifier applications with power ranging from around 20-250 watts, power density greater than 20...

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Vapor Chamber | Heatpipe Alternative

Vapor Chamber | Heatpipe Alternative

  A vapor chamber is an effective heatpipe alternative that boosts heat sink performance by  5-10 oC for typical electronics cooling applications. Vapor chambers are a simple, relatively cost-effective, and very dependable device that can be used alone or in...

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Fundamentals of Thermal Resistance

Fundamentals of Thermal Resistance

  Today’s guest blog on the fundamentals of thermal resistance is from Dr. James Stevens, Professor Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado. Dr. Stevens specializes in numerical and analytical heat transfer analysis covering both steady-state and...

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Rugged Electronics | Standards & Heat Pipe Solutions

Rugged Electronics | Standards & Heat Pipe Solutions

    This article provides a general overview of standards that target rugged electronics along with specific challenges and solutions faced by thermal engineers when designing for these applications, especially thermal solutions using two-phase devices: heat...

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Clean Heat Sink of Dust Bunnies

Clean Heat Sink of Dust Bunnies

  My current notebook is about 18 months old and had been running slower and slower for a few months. It was also noticeably hotter causing the fan to run almost continuously. I knew it was that time. About every year and a half I have to take apart my PC to...

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Thermal Test Chips

Thermal Test Chips

  To meet aggressive product time-to-market goals, electrical and mechanical engineers need to work concurrently to envision, model and validate an enormous array of interdependent system requirements. While there’s no doubt that robust thermal modeling of both...

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Using Fans & Heat Pipes to Cool Smartphones

Using Fans & Heat Pipes to Cool Smartphones

  I recently read an interesting article that explored the practical reasons behind the use of different materials for smartphone enclosures: polycarbonate, glass, and metal. They included tactile preferences, radio attenuation, and surprisingly, thermal...

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