Optimized design of thermal conductivity characteristics of contact interface for enhanced thermal contact properties

The uniform distribution of thermal conductivity at the contact interface in existing studies fail to address the non-uniform temperature gradient from the microscopic morphology, resulting in thermal contact resistance (TCR). This study, abandons the traditional uniform distribution, proposes a novel method to enhance thermal contact performance by the differential distribution design of thermal conductivity at the contact interface. Initially, an iterative optimization algorithm was developed to find the optimal thermal conductivity distribution based on the interaction between the temperature gradient and thermal conductivity. Subsequently, three cases with different design areas were compared to determine the optimal case, and the optimization designs with and without thermal conductivity distribution integral constraints are contrasted. Additionally, the designs for differential and uniform vertical thermal conductivity were compared. Results showed that the TCR for the bilateral design area (0.3 mm) case, with and without the thermal conductivity integral constraint, had reduction rates of 37.39 % and 81.65 %. Differential vertical thermal conductivity led to a 44.11 % reduction. Increasing the design area thickness and differential vertical thermal conductivity can slightly increase the optimization effect but increase manufacturing difficulty. Therefore, this approach effectively improves thermal contact performance, providing a new research path for thermal performance management of electronic equipment.