Technology media techspot (November 12) published a blog post reporting that researchers at the University of Texas have developed a new thermal interface material (TIM) that combines the liquid metal alloy Galinstan and ceramic aluminum nitride to significantly improve thermal conductivity.
In laboratory tests, the material outperformed the best commercial liquid metal cooling products on the market, increasing heat dissipation by 56%-72% . This innovation provides new ideas for solving data center overheating problems.
The study used mechanochemical methods to precisely mix liquid metal and ceramic components to form a more efficient heat conduction interface . The new TIM can dissipate up to 2760 watts of heat over an area of 16 square centimeters.
The cooling system of the data center consumes about 8 terawatt hours of energy each year, accounting for 40% of the total energy consumption. If this can be deployed, the energy consumption of heat pumps and fans can be reduced by up to 65%, and it is expected to reduce the cooling energy consumption of the entire industry by 13%, and reduce the overall energy consumption of data centers by at least 5%.
The material is currently in the laboratory stage, and the research team is working to produce larger batches for real-world testing.