Cooling of electronic circuits through elastocaloric solid-state technology: A numerical analysis for the development of the CHECK TEMPERATURE prototype

Abstract

Elastocaloric technology represents a valid environmentally friendly proposal, among the cooling technologies alternative to vapor compression. Elastocaloric cooling is based on solid state materials exhibiting elastoCaloric Effect. The phenomenon, detected in shape memory alloys, is visible in a temperature change generated by the variation of the intensity of an external mechanical field. CHECK TEMPERATURE is a project aiming at developing a smart elastocaloric device for cooling of electronic circuits. It has the aim to develop the first elastocaloric device for electronic circuits cooling. In this paper a numerical analysis for the development of the CHECK TEMPERATURE prototype is presented. The device is formed by multiples arrays of 240 wires of Ni50.8Ti49.2 alloy that favourably works in room temperature range. The mechanism for loading/unloading the wires is bending whereas air is the heat transfer fluid flowing in the channels. The investigation is carried out by means of a 2D numerical model through which optimizing both the geometrical configuration for the assembly of the elastocaloric material in the channel and the working conditions. The lengths and the placement of the wires along the channels have been investigated over variable values of cycle frequency and air flow speed. 0.5 mm as distance between two wires having a length of 20 cm is the best solution that, keeping constant the number of wires, allows to employ 30 % less elastocaloric material with consequent cost saving, giving at the same time satisfactory energy performances (6.5 as COP, 23.8 K as global temperature span).