Channel Panel^TM

Related Information

• Channel Panel printable brochure

Sales Information

• For sales information contact us

The Channel Panel is a lightweight, hermetically sealed structural panel originally developed to transfer heat from satellite electronics to external radiating surfaces via low thermal conductivity composites. These panels have been demonstrated to transport heat orders of magnitude more effectively than much heavier solid metal plates of similar dimensions. 

Advantages

• Multiple heat sources and heat sinks may be located anywhere on either side of the panel surfaces
• Extremely high effective thermal conductivities achieved per unit mass
• Fabrication accomplished using relatively low thermal conductivity materials (composites or plastics)

Conventional PCB heat sink and aluminum Channel Panel

Under development is an application where thin cooling panels are embedded in printed circuit boards (PCB). Shown below is a conventional PCB with relatively heavy (~550 grams) solid copper heat conduction plates together with a similarly-sized, but much lower-mass (~120 grams) aluminum cooling panel.

Thermal performance

The results shown were obtained by attaching a strip heater to the carbon composite Channel Panel as well as a similarly dimensionsed aluminum plate. Both were painted black to achieve similar emmisivity. Then both heaters were powered on to 27W simultaneously and infrared video of their temperature distributions was recorded. In a short amount of time the Channel Panel was isothermal and the aluminum plate had temperature gradients in excess of 19 K. The mass of the aluminum plate is 2.5 times the mass of the composite Channel Panel.