Cooling Help understanding Swiftech Storm.

Can someone explain to me why the storm gets such low temps when it seems the the water flow in it is really low? There are no channels and very little space for water to flow. I would think this would hinder cooling. Was this intentional to the design? I understand the water inpengment, just not the cramped space. Thanks.

No channels for water to run through. Doesn't this hinder the flow hence reducing temps?

 

Impingement blasts the surface with a constant turbulent shower of coolant. This prevents coolant separating into layers of different temperatures and forming insulating layers between the block surface and the rest of the coolant. It also ensures that all the coolant present in the block makes contact with the block and more efficient heat exchange can take place.

The tiny pits actually make for a large surface-to-liquid ratio. Small, constricted channels make for higher "blast" pressure, like smaller holes in your shower head cause a more pressurised spray. The channels are in fact present --on the underside of the second Delrin plate.

 

Awsome.. Anyone else care to expand?

 

Basicly, lots of small indents, lots of high pressure water, means much higher contact between the water and the material.

Kinda like the more fins on a heatsink the better the cooling as more air can get into contact with the heat

 

Inheratnly water flowing through/past an object forms a boundary layer around the obsticles, which in effect is stagnant water that sticks to the obsticles surfaces. Now due to the stagnant water next to the surface, the subsequent layers of water flow more slowely, and so the layering effect Nexxo describes occurs. To prevent this it is necessary to ensure a large amount of turbulence or random flow is present to break down these boundary layers. The standard rules on heat exchange can then be applied whereby the larger the temperature delta between the two materials the larger the cooling effect, if theres a boundary layer it gets heated up and the water actually doing the cooling is in contact with a thick "insulating" layer of slow moving or stagnant warm water, and so the temperature gradients are lower, than if there is only a minimal boundary layer and the cooler coolant is more closely in contact with the heat source, and hense has a larger temperature gradient. [/Strokes thermofluids uni notes!!]

 

As Nexxo, Doug and Tank have said, jet impregnation creates "super" turbulent water, when water is in such a state it transfers heat much better than a laminar flow. Additionally by increasing the pressure of the water, smaller water droplets are formed which accept heat faster ( very over simplified, i know but its the general idea), from the copper pits and spikes (if you look in the pits of the storm you will see little spikes in the middle). This results in a "better" heat exchange.

The lower flow rate is due to the higher pressure that the jet impreg blocks like the Storm, and to a lesser extent the RBX need to "push" water through its many jets, this isnt to say that a "low flow" pump will work with these blocks, in general you want a "high flow" pump Because the higher flow pumps Generaly have a high working preassure (head lift) and can move water through the more restrictive blocks, at an acceptable rate.

 

Thanks alot guys, this has been super informative. My next question would be then, how could I best achieve this type of cooling if I wanted to "re-create" the storm with simple home tools. Ie Drill press, dremel etc. Is it just as simple as making a "showerhead" slide with matching dimples in the block or is there more to it?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

it should be possible but remember the storm is like a piece of art. it's fine designed and machined and they use special cnc machines to make it. it should be possible to make one but you need lot'sa small drill bits both in number and size since you will maybe break some of them

 

You should be able to re-create it with some very careful measuring and drilling, however you need to remember that each jet hole needs to line up with one of the wells in the base.

 

Very doable, but much more difficult than aquiring the 90 bucks to buy it.

 

But where's the fun in that? You can't buy 1337 status my friend. Thanks for all your help guys. Hopefully I'll be able to get my paws on a digi cam so I can document my project and post my results. Off to the metal shop to buy a piece of copper since I don't think the 50mm squares I have are long enough. Gonna get a 70mm x 50mm block.

 

the thing is each of the cups, have a little tinny tiny spike in them.... that would be hard to recreate with anything short of a full CNC mill. But good luck!

 

Is the spike really necessary? I'm not looking for the same performance as the Storm. Maybe temps equal to or better than the 6002 series or the TDX (Aiming high.. lol). Any advice from you experienced water coolers since this will be my first DIY block.