Management of electronic board temperature using heat sink containing pure and microencapsulated phase change materials

Abstract

In this study, the electronic board temperature management using heat sinks containing pure and microencapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) was investigated experimentally. PCMs were selected based on the board critical temperature (80 °C). Effect of heat sink configurations, pure and microencapsulated PCMs, volume fractions of PCMs, and a wide range of electric power (5-18 W) in two states of fixed and pulsed power was examined on the board temperature behavior. Results showed that the square 7fins heat sink has the best performance compared to square 3fins and circular 12fins heat sinks. Duration times to reach the critical temperature for stearic acid, lauric acid, paraffin as pure PCMs, and PX52 and GR42 as commercial microencapsulated PCMs were 33, 31, 36, 32, and 26 min, respectively. It reveals that PX52 could be a comparable candidate to pure PCMs. Results showed that the operating time increases with volume fraction of PX52, proportionally. Consecutive heating-cooling cycles presented that the peak temperature for PX52 after heating range was lower than that for pure PCMs in the same conditions due to the higher heat transfer rate, although PX52 had less latent heat. Microencapsulated PCMs with many advantages can be good options to control the temperature of electronic components.