Effect of vacuum insulation panel on active thermal management for electronics system exposed to thermal radiation

• Published in: Thermal science and engineering progress 2021-12, Vol.26, p.101117, Article 101117
• Main Authors: Midhun, V.C., Suresh, S., Praveen, B., Raj, Cyril Reuben
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Harsh environment; Heat flow direction index; Thermal conductivity; Thermal management; Vacuum insulation panel
• ISSN: 2451-9049; 2451-9049
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsep.2021.101117

Insulation integrated ATMS. [Display omitted] •Insulation integrated ATMS for electronics systems in harsh environment.•Vacuum Insulation Panel integration in ATMS against thermal radiation.•Effect of insulation on temperature and cooling load in ATMS.•HFDI to determine the direction of heat flow in ATMS. The electronics package exposed to harsh environments like intense thermal radiation is challenging to the Thermal Management System (TMS) designers. An experimental setup has been developed to analyse the thermal response of insulation integrated pumped liquid-cooling Active Thermal Management System (ATMS) for an electronic package exposed to intense thermal radiation. Cellulose Fibre Insulation (CFI) and Vacuum Insulation Panel (VIP) of the same thickness were tested in ATMS at a heat dissipation rate of 0–20 W. This was compared with ATMS exposed to thermal radiation without insulation to analyse the impact of insulation integration. VIP integrated ATMS recorded the lowest electronic package temperature with an average temperature and cooling load reduction of 51.52 % and 65.18 %. Heat Flow Direction Index (HFDI) concept was introduced to determine the heat flow direction in ATMS. The experimental study reveals that the integration of VIP was effective in reducing the temperature and cooling load in ATMS. VIP outperformed CFI in maintaining the lowest temperature and cooling load over different power levels in ATMS. VIP possessed thermal conductivity of 5.95 mW/m-K and 73.87 % average surface reflectivity dominates over CFI shows its potential as an insulation in ATMS against thermal irradiation.