Optimising heat sink performance with porous media-PCM integration: An experimental investigation

Miniaturisation of semiconductor devices surges thermal management challenges, making effective heat dissipation crucial for durability and optimal performance. This study addresses the issue of excessive heat in semiconductors by investigating advanced cooling solutions using nickel foam -phase change material (PCM) composites. Experimental analysis of various configurations of these composites is conducted, focusing on two types of PCMs (RT-35HC and RT-54HC) with volume fractions of 0.6 and 0.8, integrated into heat sinks. The methodology involves monitoring the junction temperature of the heat sinks under varying heat flux conditions (0.8 to 2.4 kW/m(2)) over thermal charging and discharging cycles. The findings reveal a significant reduction in peak temperature, with the RT-35HC-nickel foam configuration (0.8 vol fraction) achieving a 24.9 % decrease at 1.6 kW/m(2) heat flux. This configuration also extended the operation time by 3.84 times at a critical temperature of 65 degrees C. Comparatively, the RT-54HC composite at the same fraction reduced the peak temperature by 21.4 % under a 2.4 kW/m(2) heat flux. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of PCM-based heat sinks in the charging and discharging phases, with the best performance observed in the RT-35HC with a 0.8 PCM fraction. In addition to a viable solution to thermal management in electronic devices, this study also contributes suggestively to the knowledge of PCM integration in heat sink technology for enhanced cooling efficiency.