What is the effect of thermal resistance on thermal pads?

Thermal pads are one of the materials that specifically solve the heat dissipation problem in the field of thermal management. In the past, people would install heat dissipation modules on the surface of power consumption electronic components, but the heat dissipation effect was not as expected, and the temperature of the equipment remained high. The main reason was that the heat source and There are gaps between the heat dissipation modules. No matter how smooth and flat the surfaces of the two are, they still cannot be physically fit completely. There is air in the gap, and the air will reduce the heat transfer efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to fill the heat conduction gasket in the gap at this time, so that the two People can be in close contact, remove the air from the interface, improve heat transfer, and improve heat dissipation effect.

There is a saying in the field of thermal management: purchase depends on thermal conductivity, and engineering depends on thermal resistance. Thermal conductivity is a parameter that measures the thermal conductivity of a material, but for engineers, they often pay attention to the thermal resistance value. So what effect does thermal resistance have on the thermal pad?

Thermal resistance in professional academic analysis is the temperature difference formed at the two ends of the object when the heat flow passes through the object. The thermal resistance reaction in the thermal pad is to guide the thermal resistance of the thermal pad to heat conduction. The greater the thermal resistance of the Thermal pads, the stronger the resistance to heat conduction. For example, a water pipe has a fixed water flow rate and flow rate. Yes, but the more scale in the water pipe, the greater the hindrance to the speed of water flow in the water pipe, resulting in a decrease in water flow speed, which is also the essence of thermal resistance. Therefore, two types of Thermal pads with the same parameters except for the thermal resistance value have emerged. The thermally conductive pad with a smaller thermal resistance value has better thermal conductivity, while the larger thermal resistance has a worse thermal conductivity.

When people buy or purchase Thermal pads, in addition to understanding the thermal conductivity, size and thickness, compression rate, and hardness, the thermal resistance value should also be paid attention to.