Numerical study on the synergistic effects of ultrasonic transducers and nano-enhanced phase change material in CPU thermal management

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the effectiveness of concurrently applying nano-enhanced phase change material (NEPCM) and an ultrasonic field for the thermal management of a pin fin heat sink. The role of the NEPCM is to absorb heat from the heat sink wall, while the ultrasonic field generated by ultrasonic transducers facilitates the accelerated melting of the NEPCM. The study investigated how varying the number of ultrasonic transducers positioned near each side wall of the square cross-section heat sink, along with adjusting the concentration of nanoparticles in the NEPCM, impacts the heat sink's performance. The total power consumption of the transducers is assumed to be constant and an increase in their number is associated with a decrease in the power consumption of each transducer. It was observed that raising the number of transducers and lowering the nanoparticle concentration both contributed to a decrease in the CPU's highest temperature. Additionally, it was found that by using the combination of ultrasonic field and NEPCM, the average temperature of CPU can be reduced by 12.33–15.91 °C to the case without the ultrasonic field. Moreover, raising the number of transducers and lowering the nanoparticle concentration both contributed to a decrease in the CPU's average temperature.