Abstract
This work presents a computational investigation of the passive cooling of an electronic component in a latent heat storage unit filled with nano-enhanced phase change material (NePCM). The electronic component is flush mounted on a substrate (motherboard) in the centre of the bottom wall of a rectangular enclosure. This electronic component generates heat at a constant and uniform volumetric rate. A 2D mathematical model based on the conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy has been developed using the enthalpy- porosity method. The effect of natural convection in the molten NePCM is considered during the melting process. The centrepiece of this study is to improve the functionality of PCM trough insertion of nanoparticles. Computational surveys have been developed to evaluate the effect of volumetric concentration as well as the nanoparticles type by monitoring the evolution of the maximum temperature of the electronic component, the average Nusselt number and the velocity field. These investigations show that the volumetric concentration and the nanoparticles type are two main factors to take into account for an improvement in performance of the NePCM-based heat sink.
Highlights
The last years of the 20th century were decisive for the energy state of the countries after the oil crisis in 1973
Latent storage has been of great interest to researchers because of the important role played during the melting process for storing heat
The results showed that heat transfer governed by natural convection in liquid PCM weakens with increasing concentration of dispersed nanoparticles compared to the case of the base PCM
Summary
The last years of the 20th century were decisive for the energy state of the countries after the oil crisis in 1973. Latent storage has been of great interest to researchers because of the important role played during the melting process for storing heat. PCMs are candidates that can satisfy different criteria necessary for latent storage from the first appearance on aeronautical fields [2,3]. The unacceptable disadvantage of PCMs is their low thermal conductivity This feature weakens the heat transfer within enclosures filled with PCM. Ebrahimi and Dadvand [7] have numerically studied the melting of NePCM with alumina Al2O3 nanoparticles. This melting process takes place in a rectangular enclosure containing two isothermal heat sources.
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