What is liquid metal? Extreme heat transfer is coming!

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This post was last edited by Si, Xing, Wu on 2018-2-28 at 11:29. (1) Liquid metals are a type of low-melting-point alloy that remains in a liquid state at room temperature; they possess excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, are stable in nature, do not react with air or water at room temperature, are not volatile, and are safe and non-toxic. Liquid metal materials with different melting points, viscosities, thermal/conductive properties, as well as being safe, stable, and available in various physical forms can be achieved. Characteristics of liquid metals Introduction to liquid metal heat transfer technology Technical overview: Electromagnetic pumps are used to drive the circulation of liquid metals for heat dissipation, and this method offers significantly higher heat dissipation capabilities than traditional water cooling systems. The typical characteristics of liquid metal cooling technology can be summarized as follows: (2) Liquid metals possess a thermal conductivity that is much higher than that of water, air, and many non-metallic media (Figure 1); therefore, liquid metal chip coolers enable more efficient heat transfer and superior cooling performance compared to traditional water cooling ； (Figure 1) (3) Liquid metals do not evaporate easily, do not leak easily, are safe and non-toxic, have stable physicochemical properties, and are easy to recycle. They are very safe and inert working fluids that will not react with the reactants even in case of leakage. They hold great practical value in fields with extremely high heat flux densities, such as lasers and aerospace thermal control systems. (4) The high electrical conductivity of liquid metals enables them to be driven by electromagnetic pumps that have no moving parts, resulting in high efficiency, low energy consumption, and no noise (electromagnetic pumps operate on the principle of electromagnetic induction, as shown in Figure 1). In the field of advanced energy (utilization of industrial waste heat), based on an analysis of physical properties, liquid metal heat exchangers have a clear advantage over traditional heat transfer media in high-temperature applications. Its main market applications are in high-temperature heat sources above 600°C and industrial enterprises that require precise control over process temperatures. It has high application value in existing energy-intensive and polluting industries such as basic chemicals, steel, and metallurgy. With the issue of heat dissipation under extremely high heat flux densities posing a bottleneck to the technological development of many such high-end products (such as lasers and high-density light sources), liquid metal heat transfer has become a key technology for overcoming this barrier, offering exclusive and unique advantages.