PCM based heat sinks of paraffin/nanoplatelet graphite composite for thermal management of IGBT

• Published in: Applied thermal engineering 2017-02, Vol.112, p.1129-1136
• Main Authors: Chang, Tien-Chan, Lee, Shyong, Fuh, Yiin-Kuen, Peng, Ya-Chi, Lin, Zhi-Yu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC); Graphite; Graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs); Heat conductivity; Heat sinks; Heat transfer; Insulated gate bipolar transistors; Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT); Morphology; Paraffin; Phase change materials; Scanning; Scanning electron microscopy (SEM); Semiconductor devices; Solidification; Studies; Thermal conductivity; Thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE); Thermal energy; Thermal management; Thermodynamic properties
• ISSN: 1359-4311; 1873-5606
• DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.11.010

•PCMs loading with graphite nanoplatelet (GNPs) composite was applied to IGBT thermal management.•Thermal conductivity of the composite was measured to increase by nearly 5-fold for the GNPs loading of 15%.•GNPs loading can effectively increase the dropping temperature from 55C to 165C, primarily due to the increased effective surface area. This paper reports the development and the thermal investigation of the performance of straight finned heat sink filled with paraffin/graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) composite phase change material (PCM) for thermal management of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). The heat sink made of aluminum has a cavity where the composite PCM is stored. GNPs acts as an effective media of thermal conductivity enhancement (TCE), primarily aims to increase the thermal conductivity of paraffin. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) tests were done to investigate thermal properties which include melting and solidification temperatures and latent heats. The thermal conductivity of the composite increased by nearly 5-fold by the GNPs loading of 15%.