Thermal and mechanical performance assessment of two commercially-available PA66 polymer composite materials for microelectronics heat exchanger applications

Two commercially-available thermally-enhanced polyamide 66 (PA66) polymer composite materials having thermal conductivities of 20 to 30 W/m.K, sourced from two different vendors, are experimentally characterized in terms of thermal performance and mechanical properties. The heat transfer rates of prototype air-water heat exchangers made from both PA66 materials are found to be comparable to that of an aluminum exchanger having the same geometry, demonstrating the potential feasibility of replacing conventional metallic heat exchangers with thermally enhanced polymeric composite heat exchangers in microelectronic airliquid cooling applications. However, significant differences are found in the measured mechanical properties of the two PA66 composite materials, namely tensile, flexural and impact strengths, which are attributable to fiber geometry and composition.