Also known as the green material, Steel is one of the fundamental materials required in various industries for countless reasons. From being a key component in the making of machine parts to making an invaluable component for architectural design, the steel family is highly demanded for its great physical and chemical properties. Did you know that Steel is one of the highly demanded materials in electronics for its exceptional feature of transmitting heat effectively? Read alone to explore.
From aerospace to high-tech and chemical industries, Steel is known to make great equipment for machine parts, and sometimes it makes a great material for end-user requirements such as utensils, cookware, and alike. Explore the incredible features of the 'green material' that gives it the green light to be used in manifold in varied sectors of industries.
What is Thermal Conductivity?
Thermal conductivity is often used to describe how seamlessly a material absorbs heat from areas of high temperature and transfers it toward other areas of lower temperature. The best heat-conducting metals show great thermal conductivity and are used for numerous applications, including cookware, heat sinks, and heat exchangers.
Best Conductor of Heat
Steel is one of the good conductors of heat and electricity, making it an absolute option for industry leaders as the basic material in the making of electrical appliances or related machine parts. The thermal conductivity of copper and other materials that exist naturally exude great electrical and heat transmission. Steel is an alloy steel that comprises carbon, iron, manganese, and traces of other elements like phosphorus, sulfur, and oxygen. The green material shows good thermal conductivity, which makes it an ideal material to be used in medical, electronics, construction gear, electrical wiring, and more.
Which metal is regarded as the best conductor of heat?
Aluminum
While aluminum has a lower thermal conductivity as compared to copper, it is light in weight, cheaper, and easier to work with, which makes it a better choice for varied applications. For instance, microelectronics such as LEDs & laser diodes use heat sinks made of aluminum fins that project into the air. Within aluminum, heat-emerged electronics transfer from the chip through the aluminum either passively or with help of forced airflow convection.
Copper
Copper is one of the metals that offer great thermal conductivity & is much more inexpensive and is more easily available than silver. It is one of the metals known as the best conductor of heat. Copper exudes incredible resistance to corrosion & resists biofouling which makes it a great material for solar water heaters, industrial heat exchangers, gas water heaters, refrigerators, heat pumps, and air conditioners.
What are the Applications for Conductive Metals?
Thermally conductive metals are an indispensable resource for designing or formulating the structure of the application. Electronics and custom-designed mechanical components depend on such metals that show great heat conductivity. Conductive metal applications include:
- Electronics
- Medical devices
- Laboratory equipment
- Construction gear
- Electrical wiring
Apart from showing great conductivity to heat and electronics, Stainless Steel is highly revered for its great tensile strength, ability to retain its form under extreme temperatures, excellent resistance to corrosion, high ductility, and alike. The material has been regarded as a 100% eco-friendly substitute for other metals that are used to make machine parts, laboratory equipment, medical devices, manufacturing parts, and alike.