What are the heat transfer methods used in low-noise DC fans?
Category:
Industry Trends
Release time:
2020-04-11
Low noise DC fan What are the modes of heat transfer?
Low-noise DC fans involve two relatively opposing concepts: air pressure and airflow. Generally speaking, in order to cut costs, manufacturers tend to design DC cooling fans with high airflow at the expense of some air pressure. If a fan can move large volumes of air but has low air pressure, the airflow won't reach the base of the heatsink—this is precisely why some fans, despite spinning at very high speeds and delivering huge airflow, still fail to provide adequate cooling performance. Conversely, high air pressure often means lower airflow; without sufficient cold air to exchange heat with the heat sink fins, the cooling performance will also suffer. Below, we’ll share several methods for heat transfer in low-noise DC fans.
All types of radiators essentially rely on the following three heat transfer mechanisms—though the emphasis may differ.
1. Heat conduction, heat convection, and thermal radiation—when energy is transferred within a substance itself or when a substance comes into contact with another substance, this process is referred to as heat conduction, which is the most common mode of heat transfer. For example, the way the base of a CPU heatsink directly contacts the CPU and removes heat belongs to heat conduction.
2. Thermal convection refers to the heat transfer mechanism in which a flowing fluid—whether gas or liquid—carries heat away. In computer case cooling systems, a common type of thermal convection is “forced convection,” where a cooling fan drives the flow of gas.
3. Thermal Radiation: This refers to heat transfer via electromagnetic radiation—in everyday life, the most common example is solar radiation. None of these three modes of heat dissipation occurs in isolation; in daily heat transfer processes, all three modes occur simultaneously and work together.
For example, in a typical air-cooled CPU cooler, the CPU heatsink is in direct contact with the CPU’s surface, and heat from the CPU’s surface is transferred to the heatsink via thermal conduction. The DC cooling fan generates an airflow that carries away the heat from the heatsink’s surface through thermal convection. Meanwhile, the movement of air within the computer case also uses thermal convection to remove heat from the air surrounding the CPU heatsink, eventually carrying it out of the case. At the same time, all parts at higher temperatures emit thermal radiation toward the surrounding areas with lower temperatures.
The heat dissipation efficiency of a radiator is related to parameters such as the thermal conductivity of the radiator material, the specific heat capacity of both the radiator material and the heat-transfer medium, and the effective heat-dissipating surface area of the radiator.
What are the inherent drawbacks of DC cooling fans?
The most common configuration involves using an axial-flow fan—the type that’s by far the most widely used—to blow air downward. This design is so popular because it offers a well-rounded performance at a low cost. If you reverse the direction of the axial-flow fan, it will instead draw air upward—a technique sometimes employed in certain specialized radiator designs. The key difference between these two airflow configurations lies in the nature of the air flow itself: when blowing air downward, the flow becomes turbulent, generating high air pressure but also making it more susceptible to resistance losses; when drawing air upward, the flow remains laminar, with lower air pressure but greater stability. In theory, turbulent airflow offers significantly higher cooling efficiency than laminar airflow, which is precisely why it has become the mainstream design approach. Although axial-flow fans are widely used, they do have inherent limitations. Due to the obstruction caused by the motor’s position, the airflow cannot pass smoothly through the central region of the fan’s blowing area—this phenomenon is known as the “dead zone.”
Shenzhen Jiangshanlai Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. is a large-scale enterprise integrating the R&D, manufacturing, sales, and service of brushless DC motors, DC cooling fans, DC brushless fans, DC stand fans, boosted cooling fans, micro cooling fans, DC cooling fans, DC blowers, and non-standard custom fans. We are a manufacturer and wholesale supplier of DC fans. Our products are best-selling in Guangdong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and other regions.
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