Review on Graphite Foam as Thermal Material for Heat Exchangers

Due to the increased power consumptions in equipment, the demand of effective cooling methods becomes crucial. Because of the small scale spherical pores, graphite foam has huge specific surface area. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of graphite foam is four times that of copper. The density of graphite foam is only 20 % of that of aluminum. Thus, the graphite foam is considered as a novel highly - conductive porous material for high power equipment cooling applications. However, in the commercial market, aluminum and copper are still the preferred materials for thermal management nowadays. In order to promote the graphite foam as a thermal material for heat exchangers, an overall understanding of the graphite foam is needed. This paper describes the structure of the graphite foam. Based on the special structure, the thermal properties and the flowing characteristics of graphite foam are outlined and discussed. Furthermore, the application of graphite foam as a thermal material for heat exchangers is highlighted for electronic packages and vehicle cooling systems. The physical problems and other aspects, which might block the development of graphite foam heat exchangers, are pointed out. Finally, several useful conclusions and suggestions are given to promote the development of graphite foam heat exchangers.