Numerical investigation and optimisation of solid–solid phase change material composite-based plate-fin heat sink for thermal management of electronic package

• Published in: Applied thermal engineering 2024-07, Vol.248, p.123183, Article 123183
• Main Authors: Midhun, V.C., Maroliya, Mayank, Saha, Sandip K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Enthalpy porosity method; Heat sink design; Phase Change Material; Response Surface Methodology; Solid-Solid; Thermal Conductivity Enhancer
• ISSN: 1359-4311
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.123183

•Numerical investigation of Solid-Solid PCM composite-based plate-fin heat sink.•Modified enthalpy porosity model developed for Solid-Solid PCM simulation study.•Detailed study on effect of plate fin parameters over safe operational time.•Optimisation by Response Surface Methodology for plate fin heat sink design.•Optimised design possesses 11 plate fins with 1 mm thickness and 2.82 mm fin gap. Phase Change Material based Thermal Management Systems show promise in electronic packaging systems for safe operation, acting as a thermal storage element to prevent sudden temperature surges, enhancing operational time and mitigating electronic system failures. Therefore, the meticulous design of a solid–solid phase change material (SSPCM) based heat sink with fins is imperative for effective electronic thermal management by improving its safe operational time. This study performs a numerical analysis of two-dimensional transient heat transfer for the SSPCM-based plate-fin heat sink using the modified enthalpy porosity method, where the plate fins serve as Thermal Conductivity Enhancers (TCEs). Neopentyl glycol with 6% (w/w) Copper oxide nanoparticle is used as the SSPCM composite. Enhancement ratio based on safe operational time at different power levels (2–6 W) with different percentages of TCE and fin count recorded variation from 1.32 to 13.7. The TCE integration is more effective at higher power levels. The optimisation of SSPCM-based heat sink design for maximum safe operational time is accomplished through Response Surface Methodology. The significance of the TCE fraction, number of fins, heat generation rate, and interaction effects over the safe operational time are observed. The correlation for safe operational time as a function of TCE volume fraction, fin count and heat generation rate is developed. TCE volume fraction possesses the highest influencing factor over safe operational time at lower and higher power levels compared to fin count. At 2 W and 6 W, a maximum change in safe operational time is observed from 72.7% at 2 W to 83.45% at 6 W. The heat sink with 0.262 volume fraction of TCE and 11 fins is the optimised design that can provide the desirable safe operational time for the tested range of power levels.