Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Which metal or material transfers heat the best
(OP)
I am designing a liquid cooling system for a high performance computer, and I would like to know which metal transfers the MOST heat. The obvious answer seems to be either Copper or Aluminum, but i was wondering if there is anything that will transfer MORE heat than those two, that is economically feasible, and moderately malleable. It doesn’t necessarily HAVE to be metal. As long as it has a high melting point, yet a high heat transfer rate. Can anyone help me ?
Luis
Luis





RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Or just Google 'graphite "thermal conductivity" ' or something like that.
Note the thermal conductivity of graphite in the direction parallel to the fiber direction is something like 3 - 5 times higher than copper.
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Of the non-metals and excluding diamond, lamellar graphite an excellent thermal conductor (parallel to the lamellar planes), can even be improved as such by invading reactant species that change the amount of electrons from the conduction levels of graphite itself.
Follow iainuts' advice. Good luck.
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Alex
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
If the location where heat is tranferred to the environment is remote from the heat source (say, >3X the source perimeter), heat pipes will outperform copper or graphite. And they can definitely cost less.
Remember the material conductivity is only one factor. Thermal losses at material interfaces can be greater than the loss through the material. In most liquid cooling systems, the thermal bottlenecks are the interfaces and the final heat transfer to air, and the difference between aluminum, copper, and heat pipes is negligible.
Good luck
ko
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
However, i haven’t seen too many heat pipes used for computer processors. i see a lot of them for video cards and things of that nature that need to be cooled also, but for processors you generally see a cooling fan, or a liquid cool system. How LARGE do you think a heat pipe system would have to be to make it work accurately and sufficiently?
one of the better things about liquid cooling systems that I have found is that they are able to cool items to a temperature lower than the air surrounding it. Ss with the heat pipe system i had on my video card, i literally noticed no difference. (However I don’t think my video card was heating up all that much.)
not only that, but I don’t think I would have the know how to accurately design a heat pipe system.
I would like to stay with the liquid cool systems because I have a little more experience in them.
NOW FOR THE NEXT QUESTION!
What kind of liquid would be the best inside a liquid cooling system? Generally they use Water and anti-freeze. (Maybe a few other things)
thanks everyone for their help!
Luis
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Correct, heat pipes do not cool below the ambient. They act similar to a conductor, except they have losses at each end and are effectively isothermal in between.
Most liquid systems don't cool below the ambient either. Perhaps you could provide details. Is it an emersion system? Are you also using TECs?
ko
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
well my whole idea is to design a cooling system for computer processors that out performs what is currently on the market, yet can still be made in a way that it will be affordable not only for me, but for customers as well.
i am open to other ideas,
the reason i say liquid cool, is mainly because that is what is hot on the market right now.
some people use peltiers to help the cooling process, but they produce condensation. Refridgeration is another possibility, but i am also trying to stay away from that because it also produces condensation, and the general public doesnt know HOW to waterproof their computers.
any other ideas?
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
There are so many different cpu versions, enclosures, and markets, that there is no single "best" solution. You may want to focus on a particular niche of the market.
Good luck
ko
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best
Some waterblocks are made of silver, but this is not a very commercially viable option for the mass market for obvious reason. Hence copper is the metal of choice.
RE: Which metal or material transfers heat the best