Difference between volume or bulk resistivity and surface or sheet resistivity

Bulk Thermal Conductivity vs. Thermal Impedence

With this entry I’d like to tackle the issue of thermal conductivity vs. thermal impedence in adhesive bondlines. Although some adhesive manufacturers may claim to have bulk thermal conductivity values higher than 30 W/m°K, device manufacturers need to appreciate that the bulk value is only an indicator of potential for heat transfer through the adhesive bondline. The material with the lowest thermal impedance should actually be the goal, as it is with this that the best heat transfer can actually be obtained.

The material with the lowest thermal impedance should actually be the goal

The factors that affect thermal impedance include: adhesion at the interface, surface wetting, thin adhesive bondlines and void-free bondlines. If the interfacial adhesion is weak or impacted by filler alignment, then the thermal resistance across the interface will be so great that the bulk resistivity becomes meaningless. If the bondline can be kept thin, for example by using a solventless adhesive, then heat transfer will be very efficient regardless of the difference in the bulk thermal conductivity.

What is the thermal conductivity of air?

Consider for a moment that air has a thermal conductivity of 0.0261 W/m°K (@25°C). Even a moderately-filled silica epoxy has a thermal conductivity of 0.3 W/m°K which is already more than 10 times more conductive than air. By the same token, consider a highly solvent-filled adhesive. Should the least amount of air be present, whether through a void or delamination, then the bulk thermal conductivity is immediately no longer the same.

With this in mind, I believe that the highest solvent-free, organic-filled pastes we will see will never be higher than 10 W/m°K, but that these pastes are still good candidates for applications requiring higher thermal conductivity – even those applications requesting values greater than 10 W/m°K. I remain open to the possibility that higher thermal-conductivity products may appear on the market, but I would look first to the test method used to determine the thermal conductivity and then to the void-free bondlines that these adhesives can achieve before being convinced that they make superior candidates for high thermally conductive applications.

CAPLINQ is a specialty plastics supplier offering a range of conductive materials including our broad range of electrically conductive plastics and antistatic tapes and films. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us to find out how we can help you with other questions related to bulk thermal conductivity or thermal impedence.

About Chris Perabo

Chris is an energetic and enthusiastic engineer and entrepreneur. He is always interested in taking highly technical subjects and distilling these to their essence so that even the layman can understand. He loves to get into the technical details of an issue and then understand how it can be useful for specific customers and applications. Chris is currently the Director of Business Development at CAPLINQ.

16 thoughts on “Bulk Thermal Conductivity vs. Thermal Impedence

  1. dear sir,
    i am more concerned about how to increase the thermal conductivity so that i can get less timing for cooling the reactor & therby increasing my production.

    product- styropore
    preavious k value-490 w/mk
    resent k value- 465 w/mk
    k value decreased to 25 units
    am gettin more time to cool the reaction mixture, which affect my production.
    am more concerned about how to increase the k value, there is no diposition on jacket side.

  2. Sorry, our specialty is working with thermally conductive adhesives, or other specialty chemicals. Since the styropore falls outside this category, our comments may not be of much use to you.

  3. Where the Styropore available? We require the list of suppliers. Better, if get the Indian/ Asian Supplier.

  4. CAPLINQ can supply the Styropore or equivalent material. What we require with these inquiries are the size of product required and the quantity requested. Once this is received, CAPLINQ can provide a quotation for you.

  5. i have a question about heat transfer
    let say: one face of aluminum plat 1.5cm thick is maintained 700 degree celsius and the other face is maintained at 20 degree celsius (air outside).
    therma conductivity for aluminum is 202w/mxk
    area is 0.0491 m square

    so the answer is approximate 449.63Kw/m square

    so… it take how long to balance the both temperature????

    thank you

  6. Though this isn’t the right forum to discuss thermodynamics equations, this is indeed a simple formula that follows Newton’s law of cooling which states that the rate of heat loss of a body is proportional to the difference in temperatures between the body and its surroundings. The law is:

    Q = h · A(To – Ta)
    where
    Q = Heat transfer in Watts
    h = Heat transfer coefficient
    A = Surface area of the heat being transferred
    To = Temperature of the object’s surface
    Ta = Temperature of the surroundings

    Grab a paper and pencil and you’ll get your answer in no time!

  7. i need your high level electrically conductive film for my project. may i know high voltage it can conduct during electro statically seperated as two electrodes and we only supply the dc high voltage. and i need only 4meters of film only. there is any chance to get in india .please send me the reply as soon as possible .

  8. i need your high level electrically conductive film for my
    project. may i know high voltage it can conduct during electro
    statically seperated as two electrodes and we only supply the dc
    high voltage. and i need only 4meters of film only. there is any
    chance to get in india .please send me the reply as soon as
    possible . it should bear (1-5kv) and high inducing
    charges.

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