Thermal gels prove reliable in vertical and high-vibration applications

The Chomerics Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation has released two high-performance, high-reliability, fully cured dispensable thermal gels. The new THERM-A-GAP GEL 35VT and THERM-A-GAP GEL 50VT conduct heat away from electronics to heat sinks or enclosures and function reliably in vertical and high-vibration applications.

The ‘VT’ gels – short for ‘Vibration/Vertical Tackiness’ – feature innovative materials that have proved highly effective at withstanding stringent tests involving vertical slump, high vibration, and pump out, and telecommunications thermal verification processes. Long-term reliability is crucial as it supplies confidence for mission-critical applications that rely on consistent thermal performance over many years of continuous operation.

The tackiness of these thermal gels delivers the added benefit of displacing air at thin bond lines and minimising thermal impedance. Dispensing the gels at various bond line thicknesses, typically up to 4mm, is feasible to take up gaps produced by assembly or manufacturing tolerances.

These cost-effective new gels are ideal for applications such as telecommunications infrastructure, battery energy storage systems, ADAS and automotive control modules, automotive sensors and radar, and various other electronic systems in the defence, power, industrial and consumer sectors.

GEL 35VT delivers a typical thermal conductivity of 3.5W/m-K, while GEL 50VT supplies 5.2W/m-K. As with all thermal gels from the company, the formulation of these latest products accommodates today’s high-performance and high-reliability electronics while proving excellent for automated dispensing machines, rework and field repair situations. The gels need no mixing or secondary curing to support easy application and system modifications.

THERM-A-GAP GEL 35VT provides electrical properties that include: 200VAC/mm dielectric strength (Chomerics test method); 1013-Ohmcm volume resistivity (ASTM D257); 6.8 dielectric constant at 1000 KHz/0.25mm thick (ASTM D150); and 0.022dissipation factor at 1000 kHz/0.25mm thick (Chomerics).

Based on the same tests, THERM-A-GAP GEL 50VT offers the following electrical properties: 200VAC/mm dielectric strength; 1014-Ohmcm volume resistivity; 5.2 dielectric constant at 1000KHz/0.76mm thick; and 0.003 dissipation factor at 1000kHz/0.76mm thick.

These RoHS-compliant materials are ideal for temperatures from -40C to +150C (GEL 35VT) and -55C to +200C (GEL 50VT). They are available in syringe, cartridge and pail containers, offering standard fill volumes from 10cc to 2500cc.