As an economical option to increase surface area, folded fins improve heat transfer and performance in heatsinks, heat exchangers and liquid cold plates.
What are folding fins?
Folded fins come in a variety of materials and types. Most materials that can be made into sheets and can be easily folded can be used as folded fin materials. In thermal management, the most popular materials are copper and aluminum because they have the highest thermal conductivity of the commercially available materials.
(Aluminum folded fins heatsink)
Folding fins and their many styles
Flat tops are the most common type of folded fins tube because the top or top is where the fin stack is usually attached to the base of the heat sink tube.
Flat-top fins maximize the amount of surface contact with the base, so most of the heat can be transferred from the base to the fins.
These are the types of fins used. There are other types of fins available, but their use is application-specific, these include rounded crests, shutters, spears and offsets, waves and frills.
(Wavy copper folded fins heatsink tube)
How do we actually use these sets of fins
Folded fins are rarely used alone. A stack of folded fins heat sink tube is usually attached to a base that serves as the interface between the heat source and the fins.
A copper or aluminum base is used by default, and embedded heat pipes are optional for both. But just like the fins, you can define other materials that you want to use for the base.
(folding fins with aluminum base)
Mix and match materials for folded fin heat sinks
The neat thing about having two separate components for the fin and base is that you can mix and match materials. You can use a copper base and aluminum fins, or an all-aluminum heatsink, or an all-copper heatsink, depending on your application needs.
The choice of material determines the connection between the fins and the base. Aluminum is solder resistant, so the aluminum/aluminum joint is epoxy bonded. Epoxy does not adhere well to copper, so copper/copper joints tend to get soldered.
If mixing in between, usually the aluminum parts are nickel plated and the components are welded together.
Folding fin cooling assembly
In the area of thermal management, folding fins allows us to increase the surface area within a given volume. Surface area is critical for efficient heat transfer. Single-piece folded fins also minimize the number of components used to assemble heat transfer components, such as folded fin heat sinks or larger heat exchangers.
Because the fin stack is made from a single piece of material, machine setup time, assembly and handling time, and scrap can be reduced.
Folded fins are also common components in liquid cold plates and heat exchangers, as they easily increase surface area and improve system and equipment performance. If you need help with folding fin application, please contact us!
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