Journal of Marine Science and Technology, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp.
419-423 (2010)
FABRICATING A HEAT PIPE STRUCTURE WITHIN
A RADIATING PLATE FOR ELECTRONICS
FAN-LESS COOLING
Chun-Sheng Yu*, Shung-Wen Kang*, and Hong-Bin Chan**
Key words: fan-less, radiating plate, heat pipe.
ABSTRACT
This study presents a method for fabricating a conductive
metal with a heat pipe structure integrally formed within a
radiating plate, and the heat transfer channels are arranged in
an orthogonal matrix. The developed heat transfer device is
monolithic and seamless, thus achieving low heat resistance
and high heat transfer efficiency. The high conductivity radi-
ating plate discussed in this study has significantly improved
structural strength and a complete hot spot contact for efficient
cooling. Heat generated from a heat source is transferring
without passing through different interfaces of materials or
any solder paste within the high conductivity plate. The pro-
posed heat transfer device is suitable for mounting in various
heat transfer systems or heat dissipating modules. Therefore,
electronic system cooling using a fan-less design will have
potential improved heat transfer efficiency of about 33% by
natural convection.
I. INTRODUCTION
This study focuses on recent applications of heat plates
in electronics industry. The operating principles, modeling,
design, and testing of heat plates as applied to electronic ap-
plications with a comprehensive review of the specific appli-
cations are described.
Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to
calculate the thermal phenomena of electronic systems is in-
creasing [1]. The benefits are undisputed when it comes to
performing parametric studies in early design phases. The
heat transfer behavior of electronic system is very complex. A
common question is the numerical simulations accuracy
compared to well-designed experiments. Many studies dem-
onstrate excellent agreement when the design requirements
Paper submitted 12/12/08; revised 01/21/09; accepted 07/03/09. Author for
corresponding: Chun-Sheng Yu (e-mail: 892340067@s92.tku.edu,tw).
*Department of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering, Tamkang
University, 151, Ying-Chuan Rd., Tamsui, 25137, Taipei, Taiwan.
**ChrangRong Technology Co., LTD.
419
were to maintain key temperatures in the Pentium processor
case temperature. For operation and reliability; various am-
bient temperatures and conditions included 60°C, 55°C, 45°C,
35°C, and 25°C ambient. When electronics system adopted
natural convection be the only thermal solution requirements
and constrained chassis design at the same time, heat plate
application plays an important role to enhance fin thermal
performance.
Electronic components thermal management must solve
problems connected with the limitations on the maximum chip
temperature with the requirements on the temperature uni-
formity level. One can use air and liquid coolers as well as
coolers constructed on the phase change heat transfer principle
in closed space to cool electronic components; i.e., immersion,
thermosyphon, and heat plate coolers. Each of these methods
has its merits and draw-backs. One must take into considera-
tion the thermal parameters and system design and stability,
durability, technology, price, application [10].
Heat plates, possessed of high thermal conductivity, pro-
vide an essential isothermal environment with very small
temperature gradients between the individual components.
The high heat transfer characteristics, ability to maintain con-
stant evaporator temperatures under different heat flux levels,
evaporator and condenser diversity and sizes variability make
the heat plate an effective device for electronic components
thermal control.
II. FUNDAMENTAL THEOREM
1. Heat Plate Operation
Heat plates are sealed by vacuum chambers that are par-
tially filled with a working fluid, typically de-ionized water,
as the heat transfer media. The heat plate envelopes are
made of copper of different sizes, rectangular, or any other
enclosed geometry. The heat plate embedded with extrusion
fins is as shown on Fig. 1. The envelope wall is lined with a
wick structure, which provides surface area for the evapora-
tion and condensation cycle and capillary capability. Since the
heat plate is evacuated and then charge with the working fluid
prior to being sealed, the internal pressure is set by the work-
ing fluid vapor pressure [6].
420 Journal of Marine Science and Technology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2010)
160 mm
10
Radiating plate
structure
Fig. 1. Mechanic dimension of Radiating Plate.
The working fluid is vaporized as heat is applied to the
surface of the heat plate. The vapor at the evaporator section is
at a slightly higher temperature and pressure than other areas.
This creates a pressure gradient that forces the vapor to flow
into the cooler regions of the heat plate. For a heat plate to
function properly, the net capillary pressure difference be-
tween the evaporator (heat sources) and condenser (heat sink)
must be greater than the sum of all pressures losses occurring
throughout the liquid and vapor flow path equation (1). This
relationship, referred to as the capillary limitation can be ex-
pressed mathematically as follows [14]:
∆Pmax > ∆P1 ＋ ∆Pv ＋ ∆Pg (1)
∆Pmax is the maximum capillary pressure difference gener-
ated within the capillary wicking structure between the
evaporator and condenser, ∆P1 and ∆Pv are the viscous pres-
sure drops occurring in the liquid and vapor phases, respec-
tively, and ∆Pg represents the hydrostatic pressure drop.
When the maximum capillary pressure is equal to or greater
than the sum of these pressure drops, the capillary structure
can return an adequate amount of working fluid to prevent the
evaporator wicking structure from drying out. When the sum
of all pressure drops exceeds the maximum capillary pumping
pressure, the working fluid is not supplied rapidly enough to
the evaporator to compensate for the liquid loss through
vaporization, and the wicking structure becomes starved of
liquid and dries out to prevent the evaporator wicking struc-
ture from drying out [15]. When the sum of all pressure drops
exceeds the maximum capillary pumping pressure, the work-
ing fluid is not supplied rapidly enough to the evaporator to
compensate for the liquid loss through vaporization. The
wicking structure then becomes insufficient of liquid and dries
out. This condition, referred to as capillary limitation, varies
according to the wicking structure, working fluid, evaporator
heat flux, operating temperature, and body forces [16].
2. Performance Evaluation
A heat plate works as an effective thermal conductivity (Keff)
device that can transfer a huge heat flux with a small tem-
perature difference between vapor and condense zones. This
shows high or low heat transfer efficiency from thermal con-
ductivity of a heat plate [8].
Fourier’s Law is used to investigate the thermal conduc-
tivity and compare with test data to understand the heat
transfer efficiency of sintered wick structure in a heat plate.
The equation is as follows:
∆Tmeasured
Qin = K eff Aeff (2)
Leff
Heat transfer between a solid surface and air flow
∆Tmeasured 1
Rconvection = = (3)
Qin hc A eff
Equation (3) where:
∆T = The driving temperature difference between average
fluid and the average surface temperatures [°C]
Qin = Power transferred [W]
hc = Convective heat transfer coefficient [W/cm2-°C]
Aeff = Surface area exposed to flow [cm2]
Heat transfer coefficient is a function of flow regime.
From (3), the vapor and condense section temperature are the
most important parameters for performance evaluation. The
temperature differences (∆Tmeasured) are obtained from ther-
mocouple measurements, and calculate the heat loss by (3)
from the interface to the heat plate wall that causes thermal
resistance equation (4).
Illustrated thermal resistance by network, then:
Rconvection Rfin
Tsource Tbase Tfin
Q Q
Rconvection with fin efficiency = Rfin efficiency + Rconvection (4)
3. Heat Plate on Electronic Cooling Application
The most versatile feature of using heat plates is the wide
variety of geometries that can be constructed to take advan-
tage of the available space around the electronics to be cooled.
Proper heat source thermal isolated prevents heat loss during
heating the heat plate vaporization area [7]. In many applica-
tions, the available heat sink size above the electronics is
limited by the board-to-board spacing. In this situation, heat
plates are used in a low profile system design that equalizes
the heat to a large fin stack.
In general, the smaller component cooling approaches trans-
port 10 W to 30 W each. Currently industrial computers use a
heat plate in the thermal management design. Most of these
heat plate heat sinks use a 160 mm × 90 mm as a platform to
eliminate hot spot [2]. This type of passive design has been a
very effective thermal management technique for CPUs which
power ratings less then 30 W without cooling fan [9].
 C.-S. Yu et al.: Fabricating a Heat Pipe Structure within a Radiating Plate for Electronics Fan-less Cooling 421

T3 Pure Al heat sink test T4

T5 T6
T1 T2

T2 T1
T6 T5

Fig. 3. Heat pipe structure in a radiating plate.

T4 T3
Pure Al heat sink test + Heat Spreader
T3 T4
T5 T2 T6
T1
T2
T5 T1 T6
Heater No. 1 Heater No. 2
Fig. 2. Experiment measured point description.
Most thermal designs incorporate a heat sink or fins using a
heat plate. This concept permits the computer system designer
to locate the CPU independent of the heat sink. This novel
methodology helps system designer to design the one of most
effective heat exchangers and an optimal airflow path. The
optimal design helps to reduce airflow requirements and
acoustic noise.
III. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
In situations which electronic is mounted on heat plate
units inside electronic system. The structure strength of the
heat transfer device in this study is significantly improved and
thus complete contact between the electronic device to be
cooled and the heat transfer device may be achieved. The
proposed device is embedded in the plate and transports the
heat to an air-cooled fin section. There are several different
sized units like this being used in the field [11].
1. Experimental Setup
The HP-34970 data logger and thermocouple (T-type #36)
are used to measure temperature at each point, as shown in
Fig. 2. The measured temperature is transmitted to a per-
sonal computer via RS-232 from data acquisition system. The
software observes and records the temperature variation on the
heat plate. The HP-34970 data acquisition instrument main-
tains precision measurement at ±0.1°C. The T-type thermo-
couple is a precise temperature measurement sensor (test cri-
teria is 0°C~100°C in this study). The measured temperature
is calibrated by referring to the atmospheric boiling point at
100°C.
In order to maintain the heat plate surface flatness and mean
thickness of is the most important issue during testing, because
thermal performance depends on the conductivity at each
interface. The test system setup requires heat source thermal
isolation to prevent data acquisition errors, which is always
affected by ambient temperature.
2. Experimental Results
Figure 3 shows an extrusion (160 × 90 × 10 mm [L × W ×
H]). Thermal test is running by natural convection (ambient
temperature is from 25°C to 60°C) with 2 major heat sources.
The sizes are 25 × 25 mm for each heater and total power
consumption is 30 W. These tests were performed with the
heat source in the center of the extrusion.
Different fin configurations and measured temperatures are
shown on Table 1. Standard fins are generally used for ap-
plications where high heat dissipation and airflow rate are low.
For applications where heat dissipation is needed, embedded
fins are employed to enhance the air convection. These fins
must be optimized when designing the whole system to ac-
count for the pressure losses [13].
The temperature profiles at the surface of the extrusion with
and without heat plates appear on Figs. 4, and 5, respectively
[4]. The shape of the temperature profiles on Fig. 4 demon-
strates that heat sink temperature. With heat plate assisted heat
sink, thermal design needs to place the electrical components
in convenient locations and is not limited by spreading resis-
tance to the center of the heat sink.
As shown in Fig. 5, the heat plates also significantly re-
duced the maximum surface temperature of the extrusion. By
simply adding heat plates to the base of an existing heat sink,
the overall sink to ambient temperature rises is reduced by
30°C. Figure 6 shows that a radiating heat plate presents
better performance than original aluminum and copper plate
design on electronics components cooling, and well propor-
tioned temperature distribution on chassis skin. Figure 7 shows
the lowest thermal resistance of this fan-less thermal solution
422 Journal of Marine Science and Technology, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2010)

Table 1. Temperature differences on various fin direction ARK1000

and contact wall materials.
Mounting T1 T2
Fin direction T3 T4 T5 T6 Ta
Case place (NB) (CPU)
to gravity
Material °C
Normal to
1 Rubber 78.7 97.3 72.2 68.7 66.3 74.4 25.1
gravity
Upside side
2 Rubber 83.4 102.4 77.5 73.9 72 79.8 24.9
down
Temperature (°C)
Normal to
3 Air space 78.2 95.3 72.1 68.2 66.2 73.8 24.7 > 135.34
gravity
Upside side 112.76
4 Air space 78.2 96.4 71.7 68.3 66.1 74 26.3
down
Normal to 90.171
5 Wood 78 95.7 71.5 68.2 66.1 73.6 25.4
gravity
Upside side 67.586
6 Wood 85 102.8 78.5 75 73.5 80.5 24.6
down
Normal to < 45
7 Al plate 73.4 94.3 66.6 63.3 61.4 69.5 24.2
gravity
Upside side
8 Al plate 71.2 92.4 62.1 61.7 57.5 68.3 24.4 Fig. 5. Temperature distribution without hot spot (Heat plate).
down
Normal to
9 Spreader 77.1 84.5 74 73.1 75.1 74.2 24.3
gravity
120 T2
T1
100 T4
T6
Temperature (°C)

ARK1000
80 T5
T3
60 Ta

40

20

0
Temperature (°C)
Rubber Air space Wood Aluminum Heat plate
> 116.73 Materials on mounting place

98.801 Fig. 6. Temperature description of different fin performances.

g 80.867
4.00 Ta = 25°C
62.934 Ta = 35°C
3.80 Ta = 45°C
Thermal resistance (°C/W)

< 45
Ta = 55°C
3.60 Ta = 60°C
Fig. 4. Temperature distribution with hot spot (Aluminum fin).
3.40

3.20
is the best choice in natural convection in this study [12].
Faced with high spreading resistance, the thermal solution 3.00
design must explore the feasibility of increasing the base
thickness in an effort to reduce both the heat transfer by con- 2.80
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
duction and mass.
The system design must decrease thermal resistance be- Case study
tween any hot component and heat sink interface. In high Fig. 7. Thermal resistance comparison of various ambient temperatures.
power electronics system and server system, heat plates heat
sink assemblies have been shown to offer both cost and per-
formance advantages. With spreading acceptance, production tion boundaries. In the past few years, the use of heat pipes for
volumes are increasing and costs are falling. This trend is, in the thermal management of industrial computers is a proven
turn, resulting in an expanding market with broader applica- and widely applied technology. Furthermore, heat plate ap-
 C.-S. Yu et al.: Fabricating a Heat Pipe Structure within a Radiating Plate for Electronics Fan-less Cooling
Table 2. Application field of fan less thermal solution.
Fan-less thermal solution
(Natural convection)
Item TDP (W)
Al extrusion Radiating heat
heat sink plate
AMD GX3 (1.1 W)* OK OK
ULV-400 MHz (4 W)** OK OK
Celeron-M 900 MHz (7 W) +
CPU NA OK
Intel 852 GM (3.2 W)**
Pentium-M 1.1 GHz (12 W) +
NA OK
Intel 855 GME (4.3 W)**
*www.amd.com [3] **www.intel.com.tw [5]
plications have helped enhance the computer industry to the
currently advanced level. Heat plate designs with optimal fin
performance are easily handling the current requirements and
allow additional industrial computer design flexibility. The
next generation of industrial computers is limited by the in-
creasing power that can be handled by optimized thermal
management systems [2].
Heat plates are now being combined with other technology
to help meeting the thermal requirements. In practice, these
cooling units might be the best solutions for keeping pace with
the increasing heat loads of high power semiconductors. After
cooling the electronics which generate the most heat, there is
the path to transfer heat from electronics components in the
chassis. A sealed air-to-air heat exchanger is best for dealing
with the residual heat inside the chassis.
Heat plate reliability and flexibility has proven a valuable
attribute that provides the system designer with increased
layout possibilities and typically improves thermal perform-
ance. Heat plate assisted heat sinks can manage non-uniform
heating and higher heat fluxes better than conventional heat
sinks. Heat plates can be installed in the base of an extrusion
to reduce the conduction spreading resistance. Spreading
resistance occurs when a heat source’s chip area is smaller
than that of the heat sink’s base. The electronic system can
also be customized to fit the application as Table 2 listed. Heat
plates offer an attractive approach to supplementing the con-
ventional heat sink solution. The fin stack height, width,
length, and fin spacing can be calculated using CFD numerical
optimization, which allows the designer to extend the per-
formance of more conventional heat sinks such as extrusions
or castings. The heat plate and optimal fin design assembly
permits the designer to achieve otherwise unreachable thermal
resistance level via the efficient maximization of the convec-
tive surface area available for dissipation to the ambient air.
Thermal simulation technology application means rapid com-
puter performance increases.
IV. CONCLUSION
This study presented a progression of advance thermal de-
423
sign cooling approaches for the growing heat dissipation lev-
els of power electronic devices. Heat plate assemblies (heat
dissipation from 10 W to 30 W) allow increased heat sink
performance within the volume available with little potential
impact on the existing system design.
Radiating heat plate applications can improve fin efficiency
and eliminate hot spot for a fan-less system. This improve-
ment, either in terms of permitting higher packaging densities
or permitting higher power dissipation within a compact vol-
ume, a radiating heat plate heat sink, in this situation, extends
the thermal solution to acquire additional surface area for heat
dissipation by natural convection, thus eliminating the need
for a fan.
Heat plate applications become the accepted standard ther-
mal design in industrial computers. Whereas volume con-
straints limit the use of a natural convection cooling solution, a
heat plate to a miniature fan/sink can be more economical than
a large system fan solution.
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