Thermal conductive silicone grease, as a common thermal interface material in the market, is widely used in industrial production. However, with the development of time, some of the disadvantages of thermal conductive silicone grease have gradually emerged, such as interface flow, short service life, curing cracking and powdering due to aging. Although it has good advantages in price and thermal conductivity, it is somewhat inadequate to cope with the rapid development of high-tech.
In order to solve some shortcomings of thermal conductive silicone grease and cope with the trend of industrial production automation and intelligence, a new thermal conductive material - thermal conductive gel has emerged in the thermal conductive interface material field. Thermal conductive gel is a soft silicone resin based gap filling thermal conductive material with high thermal conductivity, low interface thermal resistance and good thixotropy, and is an ideal material for applications with large gap tolerance. It is filled between the electronic components that need to be cooled and the heat sink/housing, ensuring close contact, eliminating air with poor thermal conductivity, reducing thermal resistance, and quickly and effectively lowering the temperature of the electronic components, thereby extending their service life and improving their reliability. Painting can be done manually or with adhesive equipment.
Since the excellent performance of thermal conductive gel is getting more and more attention and consultation, here are some points you should pay attention to when shopping. Because thermal conductive gel is different from thermal conductive silicone film, you cannot use the same set of thermal conductive silicone film on it. I hope the following points can help you reduce detours.
First of all, pay attention to the anti sag test of the thermal conductive gel. The thermal conductive gel is a soft paste thermal conductive material, which is semi flowing with the thermal conductive silicone grease. However, the adhesion of the thermal conductive gel is much higher than that of the thermal conductive silicone grease, so the thermal conductive gel has another name of the thermal conductive clay. The high-quality thermal conductive gel continues to cover the surface of the electronic components that need heat dissipation like a putty during use. Once the anti sag ability is insufficient, it will flow around during use, affecting its thermal conductivity.
Then, pay attention to the cracking test of the thermal conductive gel. The thermal conductive silicone grease will solidify and crack after being used for a period of time, and gradually pulverize. It is necessary to clean the surface of the electronic components to be cooled again and apply the thermal conductive silicone grease. The characteristics of the thermal conductive gel, which does not crack and has a long service life, make it possible to replace the thermal conductive silicone grease. Some high-quality thermal conductive gel can even have a service life of up to ten years. Therefore, pay attention to the cracking test of the thermal conductive gel to identify its service life.
Secondly, pay attention to the thermal resistance test of the thermal conductive gel. The higher the thermal conductivity of the thermal conductive material, the smaller its thermal resistance. This is the idea of most people. In fact, the thermal resistance is determined not only by the thermal conductivity, but also by many factors, such as thickness, contact surface area, etc. The high and low thermal resistance of the thermal conductive gel is an important test for testing the performance of the thermal conductive gel.
Thermal conductive gel is not only concerned with its thermal conductivity, but also its anti sag ability, anti cracking and thermal resistance. The advantages of thermal conductive gel make it shine in various fields. I hope you can have a certain understanding of thermal conductive gel after reading this article and find your own suitable thermal conductive gel in the future.