Using Carbon Fiber or Fiber Glass for Extreme Cooling Solutions

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Krazy_Joe

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
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Has anyone used carbon fiber or fiber glass for mods? Im thinking of using it with my kryotech unit and was wondering how well it would stand up to -50 C :D
 
Both fibers won't care much about your low temperature, the resin will. The fiber reinforcement can help you with thermal expansion cracking, but you will have to be real careful when looking up your resins. We have made carbon reinforced pressure vessels for liquid hydrogen, so it can be done, but it's not something you find in your Autozone repair section.
Also, carbon fiber and computers don't go very well together, carbon fiber is conductive and loves to find it's place into power supplies. Don't use it unless you have a shop that is well away from your computers, and make sure you don't have any "fuzz" on you. Ducktape reversed is a very good "pick-up" medium for carbon fiber.
I think for your application normal glass fiber should do the trick, you usually don't need the better strength to weight ratio of carbon in low strength applications.
 
what resin do you recommend for cold applications? I just thought that I would use carbon fiber b/c it looks cool, lol. But if its conductive I guess that may be a bad idea.
 
you really shouldn't have to worry about the conductivity, afterall, you have a steal or alluminum case don't you? But as whitewale said, work in a well ventelated area away from open flame or your computer. Only thing that comes to mind about the resin is that a on die phase change shouldn't get the carbon fiber that cold, but to watch for thermal expansion.

What exactly is the carbon fiber going to be used for ? the case?
 
k1pp3r said:
you really shouldn't have to worry about the conductivity, afterall, you have a steal or alluminum case don't you? But as whitewale said, work in a well ventelated area away from open flame or your computer. Only thing that comes to mind about the resin is that a on die phase change shouldn't get the carbon fiber that cold, but to watch for thermal expansion.

What exactly is the carbon fiber going to be used for ? the case?
Click to expand...

The carbon fiber would be used to create an air-tight capsule for the cold plate in my kryotech unit. It was made for slot 1 K7 and im going to use it for my socket A then eventually i'll put it on a AMD FX-55 when I get the cash. :D
 
Krazy_Joe said:
The carbon fiber would be used to create an air-tight capsule for the cold plate in my kryotech unit. . :D
Click to expand...

Ok, you're going just the wrong way there. The fiber reinforced composite would be a rigid item, the cold plate another. Then you drop the temperature by some 60 C. The resulting thermal expansion mismatch will crack your resin in a heartbeat, or at least destroy your airtight seal. My suggestion would be a seal of neoprene or a similar low Tg rubber as an insulator/seal around your coldplate. You can use any GFRP (car grade from Walmart is fine) around that to give you a nice solid outer casing. But don't connect the GFRP directly to the cold plate, you won't be happy with the results.
 
whitewale said:
Ok, you're going just the wrong way there. The fiber reinforced composite would be a rigid item, the cold plate another. Then you drop the temperature by some 60 C. The resulting thermal expansion mismatch will crack your resin in a heartbeat, or at least destroy your airtight seal. My suggestion would be a seal of neoprene or a similar low Tg rubber as an insulator/seal around your coldplate. You can use any GFRP (car grade from Walmart is fine) around that to give you a nice solid outer casing. But don't connect the GFRP directly to the cold plate, you won't be happy with the results.
Click to expand...

Ok, what if I use a silicone spray to coat the inside or even dielectric grease which is used as an insulator? Also, the cold plate will not be directly attached to the fiberglass. Its purpose is just and inclosure around the socket which will have foam insulation inside. The idea is from the vaporchill, mach I & II, etc which has plastic encasement with insulation foam around the cold plates.
Here is a diagram for your viewing pleasure: :p

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!FIBER GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -!!!
!!!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -!!!
!!!- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - insulation foam 2-3" thick :eek:
!!!- - - - - - - - - - ================= - - - - - - - - - - - -!!!
!!!- - - - - - - - - - ======cold plate==== - - - - - - - - - - - -!!!
!!!- - - - -- - - - - -______processor_____ - - - - - - - - - - - - !!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Motherboard
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - insulation foam :eek:

and the motherboard will be coated with dielectric grease as well as the socket
 
That configuration is perfect for any fiber glass resin. Those are usually polyester based, I'd go with an automotive grade since those are cheap and radily available (and usually made for a range of temperatures). The silicone resin you mention above is a rubbery material, not realy what you are looking for in the application as a stable housing.
 
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