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Heat Pipes & Vapor Chambers

Design Guidelines

Presenter
George Meyer
CEO, Celsia Inc.
We’ll Answer these Questions
• Benefits and consequences of solid materials
Do I Need 2-Phase?
• Some basic rules of thumb

Are Vapor Chambers Just • Similarities: design, wicks & performance limits
Flat Heat Pipes? • Differences: for moving or spreading heat

• Heat pipes: diameter, quantity, and shape

What Size Do I Need?
• Vapor chambers: sizing

• Attaching it to the condenser

How Do I Integrate Them? • Mounting it to the heat source/ PCB

What Should the Heat • Types of condensers

Exchanger Look Like? • Pros and cons

How Do I Model • Heat sink ballpark • CFD analysis

Thermal Performance? • Excel Model • Proto testing

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When to Use 2-Phase Devices
The Short Answer
• Only when the design is conduction limited or
• Non-thermal goals such as weight or size can’t be achieved with other
materials such as solid aluminum and/or copper.

Aluminum Copper Two Phase

(baselined at 1X)

Base thk: 1X Base thk: 0.5X Base thk: 0.5X

Weight: 1X Weight: 3X Weight: 2X
Cost: 1X Cost: 1.6X Cost: 1.8X

Conduction Loss in the Base: Conduction Loss in the Base: Conduction Loss in the Base:
22o Celsius o
17 Celsius. If base same thickness 4o Celsius
as Aluminum then 11o C

If conduction loss through the base is greater than 10o C, it’s a

good sign that you could be conduction limited
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2-Phase Rules of Thumb
2-phase devices are incredible heat conductors.
1 • 5 to 50 times better conductivity than aluminum or copper using
copper/water 2-phase
• 1,000 to >50,000 w/mK. Exact figure is primarily dependent on the
distance the heat is transported. Important as input for CFD modeling

Ideal when heat needs to be moved more than 30-50mm

2 • Remote fin stacks (heat exchangers) are a perfect example

If you’re interested in spreading heat to reduce hot spot and/or attach

3 to a local heat exchanger

• The ratio of heat spreader to heat source should be on the order of 20:1
greater area

As with any heat pipe heat sink design, size the heat pipe with an
4 additional 25% thermal headroom

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2-Phase Similarity: Inner Workings
Heat pipes & vapor chambers transfer heat through the phase change of
liquid to vapor and back to liquid
Liquid is passively pumped from condenser to evaporator by capillary action

Used for very efficient heat

transport & spreading
No noise or moving parts with
very high reliability

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2-Phase Similarity: Wick Structures
Power Density Resistance Orientation
Sintered <500w/cm2 0.15-0.03
Good for freeze/thaw and bent shapes o +90o to -90o
Powder Small heat sources up to 1,000 w/cm2 c/w/cm2
<30 w/cm2
Screen Main use is for very thin heat sinks due to 0.25-0.15
o +90o to -5o
high evaporator resistance. Limited c/w/cm2
bending.
Grooved <20w/cm2 0.35-0.22
Entry level price / performance must be o +90o to 0o
gravity aided/neutral. c/w/cm2
Evaporator Resistance (Typical Two Phase)
Grooved
+90o -90o
C/w/cm2

Screen
o

Sintered Powder

Power Density w/cm2

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2-Phase Device Similarity: Performance Limits
Vapor Sonic Entrainment Capillary Boiling
Limit ‘the limiting factor’
Pressure Device above
Cause Operating well Start-up power, designed power Input power Radial heat flux
below design temp low temp combo input or at low exceeds design exceeds design
temp

Problem Vapor flow Large internal Condenser flooded Capillary pump

Wick dries out
prevented pressure drop with excess fluid breaks down

Increase vapor Increase vapor

Solution Change working Modify wick Increase wick heat
space or operating space or operating
fluid structure flux capacity
temperature temp

Sonic
Capillary limit is the ability of a
Entrainment Boiling
particular wick structure to provide
Cap Limit adequate circulation for a given
working fluid.
It is usually the limiting factor for
terrestrial applications.

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Wick and Vapor Limits Are What Matter
Heat Pipe Vapor Chamber

• Qmax is determined by the lower of the wick and vapor limits

• Wick limit = capillary limit
• Vapor limit = combination of sonic and entrainment limits
• For heat pipes the wick limit is usually the limiting factor, unless flattened
• For vapor chambers the vapor limit is the usually the limiting factor

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2-Phase Device Similarity: Customization
Porous Wick “Standard” Wick

• Don’t simply rely on published data from one

heat pipe manufacturer
• Changes to wick thickness & porosity as well
as the amount of working fluid can greatly
effect performance
• Pore radius, for instance, is increased when a higher Qmax is needed -
while shrinking it improves capillary action for applications where the
condenser is below the evaporator

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Orientation Affects Qmax
• With standard heat pipes, Qmax drops by 90-95% depending on orientation
• Both extremes can be optimized but not in tandem
• Increasing the Qmax to work against gravity decreases the Qmax when
working with gravity.

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2-Phase: Effective Thermal Conductivity

• Two phase device thermal conductivity increases with the length of the device.
• Important to know for CFD modeling.
• For industrial applications where powers are higher and the distances may be longer,
the numbers are typically from 15,000 to as high as 50,000+, but rarely reach the often
cited 100,000 w/mK figure

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2-Phase Differences: Overview
Hybrid 1-Piece Traditional 2-Piece
Heat Pipe Vapor Chamber
Vapor Chamber

Initial Form Small diameter tube 3-10mm Very large diameter tube Upper and lower stamped
Factor 20-75mm plates
Shapes Round, flattened and/or bent Flattened rectangle, surface Complex shapes in x and y
in any direction embossing & z-direction bendable direction, surface embossing
Typical 3-8mm diameter or flattened 1.5-4mm thick, up to 100mm W 2.5-4mm thick, up to 100mm
Dimensions to 1.5-2.5mm. Length 500mm+ by 400mm L W by 400mm L

Mounting to Indirect contact though base Direct contact. Mounting pressure Direct contact. Mounting
Heat Source plate unless flat & machined up to 90 PSI pressure up to 90 PSI

Relative Cost Very cost effective, but
increases quickly with large
diameter, custom wick
structure, secondary ops
Comparable to 2-4 heat pipes in
higher power and/or high heat
flux applications
More expensive than 1-piece
design due to additional
tooling cost and labor time,
but large scale production
closes the gap

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2-Phase Differences: Moving or Spreading Heat?

While there’s no hard line of distinction between the

two, think of the difference like this…

Moving Spreading

Local
Remote Condenser
Condenser

Heat
Direct Mount
Heat Pipes Vapor Chamber

Heat
Mounting
Plate(s)

• Linear heat flow • Multidirectional heat flow

• Remote condenser, usually • Local condenser, almost always

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What if BOTH Spreading & Moving Are Important
• You’ll typically encounter this problem with challenging applications
• High-heat flux
• Enclosures tightly packed with electronics
• Limited or no air flow

Remote
Condenser

Heat Pipes

Mounting Vapor
Plate(s) Chamber
Heat
Heat

Outer heat pipes will perform poorly as they Solution: Use vapor chamber alone or in
are not directly beneath the heat source combination with heat pipes (to move the heat)

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When Moving Heat to a Remote Sink

99% of All Applications Use Heat Pipes

• Complex shapes often required • Readily available in volume
• Easily bendable in any direction • Will work against gravity ± 45°

Example #1 – Notebook computer

2 flattened heat pipes cool 3 heat sources
• With the right thermal modeling,
heat sources can be daisy chained
onto one device.
• Good example of heat pipe design
flexibility.

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When Spreading Heat to a Local Sink

Heat Pipes are a Good Choice If

• Plenty of air flow • Normal ambient
• Lots of room for fins
• Nominal power densities <25 w/cm2 • Every penny counts!

Example – Telecom Equipment Application

• For moderate performance applications where spreading needs to be augmented, the

use of several heat pipes embedded into the base may be sufficient
• The use of heat pipes in the base does not eliminate the conductive losses but will help
to reduce them.

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When Spreading Heat to a Local Sink
Vapor Chambers may be the Best choice if
• Z direction (height) is limited • High ambient or low air flow
• Power densities are high • Every degree counts!
Example – Higher GPU power & density required design modification
One 3mm thick vapor chamber replaced two 8mm heat pipes. 6 degree C better
performance and more even heat distribution across heat source surface
• Direct contact to the VC means one less interface and better spreading
• Flat design allows for additional fin area
• Vapor chamber ideal when several heat sources need to be isothermalized

VS

6 oC Cooler

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When Moving Heat to Remote Sink

Vapor Chambers are a Good Choice If

• Thermal performance is critical
• Ultra-thin VC can allow for more fin area

Example #1 – Three 450W RGB Laser Diodes for 3D Projector

Three vapor chambers each 70mm W x 300mm L move heat to a common fin stack
• Vapor chambers were used in place of heat pipes to reduce conduction loss

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Spreading & Moving – Some Oddballs
Example #1 – Flattened / machined HPs are
sometimes used to mimic a vapor chamber
Gaming desktop cooling overclocked processors
s • Heat pipes make direct contact with the heat
a t Pipe ed
e
nt a ct H ing Limit source, eliminating 2 interface layers
i re ct Co Spread
D tion • If implemented correctly performance can be
rec
X Di
good, but cost rises quickly and heat spreading
in X direction is still limited

Example #2 – Heat pipes and vapor chamber

used in combination

Small form factor desktop PC cooling Core I7 chip

Vapor
• VC replaced copper mounting plate Chamber
• 5 degree better performance than original
design with reduced hot spots

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Bending & Shaping
Heat Pipe Heat Pipes
1-Piece Vapor Chamber 2-Piece Vapor Chamber
• Bend radius 3X diameter of heat pipe. Each 45 degree bend
reduces Qmax by ~2.5%
• Flatten to 1/3 diameter of original pipe (typical)
• Machining if pipe wall thickness permits. Allows direct
contact with heat source

1-Piece Vapor Chamber

• 10mm bend radius along narrow plane
• Flattened to 1/10 – 1/20 diameter of original pipe (typical)
• Typical thicknesses between 1-4mm
• Surface pedestals of 0.5-1.0mm high available for recessed heat sources

2-Piece Vapor Chamber

• Stamped bend to 1x thickness of the sheet metal, typically
done as a ‘step’. Note – steep bends increase vapor pressure
drop significantly
• Upper and lower plates are stamped flat.
• Stamped surface pedestals of 3-5mm high available for
recessed heat sources

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Sizing Two-Phase Devices (copper, sintered wick, water)
Diameter 3mm 4mm 5mm 6mm 8mm**
Max Power (Qmax watts)* 15 watts 22 watts 30 watts 38 watts 63 watts
Typical Flattening Height 2.0mm 2.0mm 2.0mm 2.0mm 2.5mm
Resulting Width 3.57mm 5.14mm 6.71mm 8.28mm 11.14mm
Flattened Max Power* 10.5 watts 18.0 watts 25.5 watts 33.0 watts 52.0 watts
* Horizontal Orientation **Thicker wick than 3-6mm examples

Challenge – Cool an 70W ASIC size 20x20mm with one-90o bend

Options Three 6mm Two 8mm
Round Heat Flat Heat
Pipes Pipes
HP Width 20mm = 18mm + (2x1mm) 22.3mm = 2 x 11.14mm
baseplate gap
Qmax per HP 38 watts 52 watts (flattened)
Qmax Total 114 watts 104 watts
Run at 75% Qmax 85.5 watts 78 watts
Less 5% Qmax to 81 watts 74 watts
Account for 90o Bend
21 Conclusion: Both configurations will move the heat to the condenser
Most Used PCB Mounting Options

Stamped & Clip Style Attachment

• Pros: $ low cost
• Cons: Low pressure- higher TIM resistance
• Best Use: small, lower power applications

Spring Loaded Screws

• Pros: Higher pressure for better TIM
performance
• Cons: hardware can get pricy
• Best Use: Heavier heat sinks and/or
higher shock and vibe requirements

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Heat Exchanger Design (Fins)
Condenser Cost Typical Benefits Potential Drawbacks
Type
Extruded $ ∙ Readily available ∙ Dimensions are limited
∙ Easy to manufacture to custom ∙ Fin height limited ~20x fin width
specifications, including grooves for ∙ Base & fins are same material, usually
heat pipes aluminum
Die Cast $ ∙ Net shape ∙ Lower thermal conductivity
∙ Low weight ∙ Potential for porosity
∙ Easily customizable ∙ Not generally used with heat pipes
Bonded $$ ∙ Large heat sink sizes ∙ If fins are epoxied in place, increasing
∙ Base and fins can be of different the thermal resistance
materials
Skived $$ ∙ Fin and base from solid piece of ∙ Base may be thicker than needed =
metal, usually copper higher weight
∙ High density fins possible ∙ Fins damage easily
∙ More design flexibility than extrusion
Fin Pack & $$ ∙ Low-high fin density ∙ Generally, for fins less than 1mm
Zipper Fins ∙ Low weight thick
∙ High design options, including center
mounted heat pipes
Forged $$$ ∙ Fin design in many shapes (pin, ∙ Usually reserved for higher volume
square, oval, etc) products as tooling is expensive
Machined $$$$ ∙ High thermal conductivity ∙ None, other can cost.
∙ Complicated designs OK ∙ Not good for high volume due to
production time

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Assembly Attachment
Soldering
90% of the time
Direct copper to copper bonds or
nickel plating over aluminum
Thermal Epoxy
10% of the time
Only for very large parts. Test to
ensure minimal thermal impact

Direct contact VC
VC soldered to a
epoxied to an
machined forced
aluminum heat sink
convection heat sink

Steel mounting
HBLED vapor
plate soldered to a
chamber – natural
vapor chamber
convection

Heat pipes soldered 1.5mm VC memory

to nickel plated module
copper blocks

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Thermal Solution Design Process
Estimate the size and number of two-phase devices to
1 spread and/or move heat
• Generally a good idea to spec heat pipes to 75% of their Qmax

Estimate the heat sink size necessary to dissipate the heat

2 • There’s a very simple equation that will get you close.

Model in Excel to include more variables

3 • Additional Typical variables used: fin variables (thickness, pitch,
height), TIM, base thermal conductivity

CFD Modeling to optimize design & understand performance

4 factors in a more dynamic way
• Factors in air flow dynamics, radiation effect, conduction nuances,
and unique component shapes – among others

Prototype solution and conduct system tests

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5 • Real data – there’s no substitute!
Heat Sink Volumetric Calculation
Benefits: Quick & easy ballpark of required heat sink size
Application
Drawbacks: Doesn’t account for fin or base variables, nor specific XYZ
Four 200 Watt Heat
dimensions – only overall volume Sources = 800W
2.5 m/s Air Flow
Equation:
• V = (Q*Rv)/Delta T

------------------------------12”--------------------------------
• V = heat sink volume based on outside dimensions 200W
• Q = heat source power, Rv = volumetric thermal resistance
• Delta T = difference between T-case and max ambient temperature.
• Example Application: Q = 800W, Delta T = 40oC (80 Tcase - 40 Ambient) 200W
• Moderate Forced Air Flow at 2.5m/s
• Rv based on the below table (well verified data)

Air Flow (m/s) Rv (cm3 – C/W)

200W
Natural Convection 500-800
1 m/s (gentle air) 150-250
2.5 m/s (moderate air) 80-150 Midpoint = 115
5 m/s (high air) 50-80
• Estimate based on above: 2,300cm3 = (800*115)/40 = 140in3 200W

• How close is this to reality?

4.0”
• Actual dimensions after further modeling are 120in3 – the volumetric --------2.5”--------
ballpark is within 15% of the actual

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Excel Analysis
• Using Excel provides a more granular level of understanding of both the
heat sink system as well as a comparison between a solid aluminum
base and a two-phase base
• The goal Delta-T total is 40oC with 100 CFM air flow

Aluminum Base Heat Sink Delta-T Analysis (Deg. C)

2-Phase Heat Sink Delta-T Analysis (Deg. C)

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CFD Analysis and Prototyping

CFD Benefits
• Multivariate optimization allows focus on key design goals
• Fully understand which variables most affect performance
• Reduces the number of prototype iterations
CFD Potential Drawbacks

s
• Software and experienced personnel are expensive

m ic
er ph
Th ra
• Output is only as good as the input (garbage in, garbage out)

Flo or G
t
en
M
Prototype Benefits
• Heat sink and system validation to account for un-modeled or incorrectly
modeled CFD variables
• Test data can be used to refine future CFD models
Prototype Potential Drawbacks
• Cost and time

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Q&A --- Thanks for Attending!

Contact Us
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www.celsiainc.com