When the PTC element is used as a heater, it has the dual functions of resistance and switch. Therefore, the PTC heater can show fast heating speed, the heating temperature can be controlled automatically, the heating power is less affected by external conditions, energy saving and power saving, no open flame It has advantages such as safety and reliability, and as long as the performance of the PTC material used is properly selected, its service life will be very long. However, the PTC heater also has its obvious shortcomings, because its heat is released by contact with the substance to be heated, and the contact between the PTC element and the substance to be heated will be an important factor in the power output of the heater One. However, the PTC material is a polycrystalline ceramic body, which is generally made into a block-shaped element, and it is difficult to change the heating element and the heated substance like other heating materials that can be processed into a thin sheet or drawn into a filament Contact conditions, this limits the scope of application of PTC heaters to a certain extent.
The first way to improve the heating power of PTC heaters is to use high Curie temperature PTC materials, and the second way is to increase the heat dissipation factor of PTC heaters. Tube-shaped, ring-shaped, harmonica-type PTC components and specially designed low-thermal-resistance PTC heating devices came into being. A relatively complicated honeycomb p'tC component has also been successfully manufactured. It shows its characteristics in different applications and adds luster to the development of PTC materials.
The heat dissipation factor of the PTC heater can also be increased from another angle, that is, the common sheet PTC element is combined with the metal heat sink to organically combine the heating characteristics of the PTC material with the excellent heat dissipation performance of the metal material. Greatly increased the heating power of the entire heater. Moreover, since the PTC element in this structure does not have special processing requirements, metal heat sinks are also materials that can be mass-produced. Therefore, this type of PTC heater that uses metal sheets to increase the heat dissipation effect has a more realistic and extensive application.
