Experimental investigation of the effects of using PCM, multi-PCMs, and forced convection on heat sinks for thermal management of electronic devices

Efficient heat management is a serious challenge of integrating and miniaturizing high-power electronic devices. Fin heat sink based on phase change material (PCM) is an efficient passive cooling technology for electronic devices with alternative high-power density. It is developed to cool down electronic parts in transient applications. The efficiency of PCM-based heat sink is acceptable only below the melting point so that afterward, the temperature of electronic parts increases notably. The present study, in addition to using an aluminum heat sink with PCM for passive thermal management, forced airflow (2.5 ms−1 and 4.5 ms−1) was employed to examine the effects on the system performance. In addition, two PCM materials (n-Eicosane and paraffin) with two different layouts were used at power levels 10 W (8.3 kW m−2) and 15W (12.5 kW m−2). The results indicated that with paraffin in the middle and airflow velocity of 2.5 ms−1 and 4.5 ms−1 the maximum temperature of the heat sink decreased by 45% and 58%, respectively, compared to the design without forced convection. The layout of PCM in multi-PCM design had a notable impact on the performance in forced convection condition in particular. The increment rate at 100 mW mode and airflow of 4.5 ms−1 with paraffin in the middle was 150% higher than that of the alternate layout.