Improvement of the Thermal Performance of PCM-Based Heat Sink Used in Electronic Cooling by Adding Nano-Particles

Recently, thanks to the technological advances, electronic devices are getting smaller in size. This causes an increase in the heat generation per unit area. This heat has to be removed from electronic devices for them to be longer-lasting, more efficient and more reliable. There are many active and passive methods designed for this objective. One of them is embedding phase change material (PCM) in the heat sink. PCM, during the phase change stage, absorbs the heat generated in the system and thus aids in keeping the temperature at a certain value. The biggest downside of PCM is its rapid conduction of heat. PCM properties can be improved by using nanoparticles. In this study, nanoparticles such as TiO2 and CuO were added to PCM and such a modified PCM is used in a finned heat sink. The thermal behavior of the PCM with addition of 1%, 2% and 5% TiO2 and CuO was investigated numerically in three dimensions. RT-28HC was used as the PCM in the study. It was shown that as the nanoparticle ratio increases, heat transfer coefficient of the PCM rises and the melting time of Nanoparticle PCM (NPPCM) is less than that of pure PCM. However, it was observed that, the melting time of PCM with CuO added is longer than that of the PCM with TiO2 added.