Effect of fin geometry on the thermal performance of a phase change material heatsink

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental and computational study to optimize a novel folded fin phase change material (PCM) heatsink. An experiment was conducted on a custom heatsink assembly. The results were used to validate a finite element model created in ANSYS fluent. This model utilized solidification/melting calculations in Fluent to study the thermal performance of the heatsink assembly with an applied power ranging from 16 to 48 W, varying fin gaps between 2.32 and 5.52 mm, and fin wall thickness of 0.8–2.4 mm. This study revealed that the proposed fin design provides increased thermal effectiveness for applied power up to 48 W. It was also found that that a fin wall thickness of 0.8 mm increased the time required to fully melt the PCM by 17% compared to the 2.4 mm thick fins. A fin gap of 5.52 mm resulted in an 11% increase in melt time when compared to the smallest gap studied of 2.32 mm.