Introduction to heat management
When Electric power is applied to a circuit, the circuit uses that power to perform work. In computers , the conversion of power into work is not a perfect one, most of the power is dissipated as heat. Over heating may cause a chip to fail permanently. Thus it is very important that a computer system must contain certain system to handle heat.
Some of the systems that are used to bring down the heat in now days personal computers are-
Heat Sinks- By adding a heat sink to a heated component, the effective surface area of components case is increased. As more air can flow over a large surface, more heat is carried away and the component stays cooler.A Heat sink is the simple and inexpensive way to enhance cooling.
Some of the systems that are used to bring down the heat in now days personal computers are-
Heat Sinks- By adding a heat sink to a heated component, the effective surface area of components case is increased. As more air can flow over a large surface, more heat is carried away and the component stays cooler.A Heat sink is the simple and inexpensive way to enhance cooling.
Fans- Fans are commonly used to produce strong local airflow. When a fa n is attached to heat sink, it keeps the component cooler than can a heat sink alone. Currently fans are attached on to the heat sink of the processor and on to the chassis. Heat from the enclosure or the chassis should be evacuated. For this chassis fans are used. Apart from these, nowadays graphics cards comes along with attached cooling fans.
Piezoelectric coolers- Piezoelectric devices mount a layer of piezoelectric material over the CPU. As crystal layer vibrates, temperature differcence occurs which results in cooler surface. Major disadvantages of Piezoelectric coolers are their expense and the chances for the CPU damage is high due to long term exposure to vibration.
Liquid Cooling- The basic principle behind the heat pipe are well known
to refrigeration professionals, but now computer technicians are also close studying it. Basically a vacuum tight tube is filled with a low boiling point fluid. The tubes run through a small heat sink fitted over the CPU. The advantages here is that since heat doesnot have to dissipate to air, heat sink can be quite thin.
to refrigeration professionals, but now computer technicians are also close studying it. Basically a vacuum tight tube is filled with a low boiling point fluid. The tubes run through a small heat sink fitted over the CPU. The advantages here is that since heat doesnot have to dissipate to air, heat sink can be quite thin.More about Liqid Cooling System
A liquid-cooling system for a PC works a lot like the cooling system of a car. Both take advantage of a basic principle of thermodynamics - that heat moves from warmer objects to cooler objects. As the cooler object gets warmer, the warmer object gets cooler.
The Cooling system incorporates
A PUMP that carries water or the coolant through the system
A RADIATOR that dispels heat into air
A FAN connected over the Radiator
A COOLENT RESERVOIR that holds extra fluid
HOSES to connect the different parts of the system
Most of the electronics components cant be directly in contact with the water so water blocks are used for this purpose. Now what is this water block???? A water block is a heat conductive metal, which is filled hollow tubes and channels. The metal used may be of copper or aluminium. The bottom of the water block is a flat piece of metal that is placed directly on top of the chip being cooled. The heat transfer between the block and the chip is improved with the help of Thermal paste between them. The chip heats the block, and the water absorbs the heat as it flows through all the channels.
Water coolers for computers during '90s, where homemade. They were put together using car radiators aquarium pumps and home made water blocks. More recently a growing number of companies are manufacturing pre-made, specialised components, allowing water cooling to be compact enough to fit inside a computer case. This, coupled with the growing amount of heat coming from the CPU has greatly
increased the popularity of water cooling. However it is still a very niche market.
The water blocks for Central processing units have a universal standard. But for certain other chips they will be unique. The water blocks designed for north bridge, Graphics processing Units, and other printed circuit boards are also in use. Most liquid cooled Pcs have
1) A pump
2) A radiator
3) A fan
4) A coolant reservoir
5) Tubing
The pump is one of the most important parts of the system. Usually a centrifugal pump is used. Some systems have Submersible pumps. The flow rate of the pump determines how quickly the coolant moves through the tubes and blocks. If the water moves too quickly, it means that it doesn’t have time to absorb heat before moving on. And on the other hand if it moves too slowly, the heat generated by the components is not carried out efficiently. Hence flow rate is an important factor that has to be considered while designing a water cooling system for a PC. Another factor that has to be considered is the pressure of the pump used. The pump has to be strong enough to move the coolant from lowest point in the system to the highest. This is refered to as Head Pressure or Vertical Pressure
The Cooling system incorporates
A PUMP that carries water or the coolant through the system
A RADIATOR that dispels heat into air
A FAN connected over the Radiator
A COOLENT RESERVOIR that holds extra fluid
HOSES to connect the different parts of the system
Most of the electronics components cant be directly in contact with the water so water blocks are used for this purpose. Now what is this water block???? A water block is a heat conductive metal, which is filled hollow tubes and channels. The metal used may be of copper or aluminium. The bottom of the water block is a flat piece of metal that is placed directly on top of the chip being cooled. The heat transfer between the block and the chip is improved with the help of Thermal paste between them. The chip heats the block, and the water absorbs the heat as it flows through all the channels.
Water coolers for computers during '90s, where homemade. They were put together using car radiators aquarium pumps and home made water blocks. More recently a growing number of companies are manufacturing pre-made, specialised components, allowing water cooling to be compact enough to fit inside a computer case. This, coupled with the growing amount of heat coming from the CPU has greatly
increased the popularity of water cooling. However it is still a very niche market.The water blocks for Central processing units have a universal standard. But for certain other chips they will be unique. The water blocks designed for north bridge, Graphics processing Units, and other printed circuit boards are also in use. Most liquid cooled Pcs have
1) A pump
2) A radiator
3) A fan
4) A coolant reservoir
5) Tubing
The pump is one of the most important parts of the system. Usually a centrifugal pump is used. Some systems have Submersible pumps. The flow rate of the pump determines how quickly the coolant moves through the tubes and blocks. If the water moves too quickly, it means that it doesn’t have time to absorb heat before moving on. And on the other hand if it moves too slowly, the heat generated by the components is not carried out efficiently. Hence flow rate is an important factor that has to be considered while designing a water cooling system for a PC. Another factor that has to be considered is the pressure of the pump used. The pump has to be strong enough to move the coolant from lowest point in the system to the highest. This is refered to as Head Pressure or Vertical Pressure
.The radiator for the system can be specially designed or it can be the heater core of a car. Every liquid cooled system doesn’t need a fan, but most use one to help the radiator dispel heat faster. In the same way every system doesn’t need a separate reservoir. Tubing is another important factor that is a challenging one. The tubes should be flexible enough to connect components. In a simple sy
stem , a tube connects the pump to the inlet of a water block. Sep
arate tubes runs from water blocks outlet to the radiator and from the radiator to the reservoir, then back from reservoir to the pump.Major component of the system is the liquid itself. Since ordinary tap water contains contaminations distilled water is majorily used. Some sort of colour is added to the water so as to view the water flow.
Apple's Power Mac G5 was the first mainstream desktop computer to have water cooling as standard, and Dell later followed suit by shipping their XPS computers with liquid cooling, using thermoelectric cooling to help cool the liquid.