Details
Thermal Grizzly's PhaseSheet PTM is a thermal pad based on a phase change material (PCM), here as one 50 x 40 mm sheet, 0.2 mm thick. Its primary application is on processors and graphics chips, where it takes the place of thermal paste.
Properties
- Size
- 50 x 40 mm
- Thickness
- 0.2 mm
- Material
- Phase-change material (PCM)
- Electrically conductive
- No
- Operating temperature
- -75°C to +150°C
- Color
- Gray
Solid in the hand, liquid under load
At room temperature the phase-change material is solid, so the pad can be easily applied. The material only begins to liquefy at temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, and during operation it can effectively dissipate heat like a thermal paste. In its liquid state it has a very low viscosity. Getting the lowest possible layer thickness takes a high contact pressure of around 300-400N, which is required for optimum distribution of the liquid material. The pad is not electrically conductive and can therefore be used in many areas.
Thermal Grizzly's short list of its strengths:
- Outstanding thermal conductivity
- Consistently high performance
- Very long service life
- Versatile in application
- Easy to use
The pump-out effect
Under load, the temperatures cause the heatspreader and the base plate of a CPU cooler, for example, to deform (concave or convex). They return to their original shape (straight) when they cool down. As a result, thermal paste is slowly pressed out from between the two. The effect is particularly pronounced when combining a copper cooler on a graphics chip, because silicon and copper have different linear expansion when heated. The pad contracts again when it changes back to a solid material, thus minimizing the pump-out effect. Thermal Grizzly's data sheet names replacing the paste on older graphics cards and converting to water cooling as applications.
Service life and break-in
Thermal Grizzly has optimized the pad for applications with long intervals between maintenance. It is more durable than traditional thermal pastes, but not as durable as KryoSheet, for example, which is virtually maintenance-free. Note that the pad develops and stabilizes its maximum thermal conductivity after around ten thermal cycles above 60 degrees Celsius.
In the box
- 1x PhaseSheet PTM pad, 50 x 40 x 0.2 mm
Thermal Grizzly's data sheet and safety data sheet are both PDFs.
