Abstract:

Phase change materials (PCM) undergo a solid to liquid phase transition, providing thermal stabilization during this phase. Such a thermal management scheme can be used in situations where heat dissipation is periodic, or a sudden transient, such as in personal computing and communication equipment. This paper presents the design guidelines associated with thermal management with solid-Iiquid phase change materials. Important design and manufacturing issues are considered, and a design procedure is presented. As a test case, an experimental study of melting Phase change material in a porous aluminum matrix inside a shallow enclosure is reported. Constant power input is provided from below by a heater element mounted underneath the cavity. The experimental data for the prototype passive thermal control device using PCM show that such a thermal control scheme maybe a viable alternative to forced convection or liquid-vapor two-phase cooling systems under certain conditions. The disposition of aIuminum-foam resulted in a superior performance of the heat sink in terms of lower temperature and extended period of operation.

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