Novel thermal management of electronic devices by nano enhanced phase change materials: A numerical study

Efficient and effective thermal management is considered essential for electronic devices as increased power densities generate substantial heat, risking performance and longevity. This study numerically analyzed nano-enhanced phase change materials (NPCMs) integrated with optimized heat sink designs for electronic cooling. Solid-solid PCMs (S-S PCMs) were augmented with nanoparticles to improve thermal conductivity, and a novel heat sink geometry was developed using the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) topology optimization method. The optimization study identified an optimum Helmholtz radius of 8 × 10 −4 m and a hyperbolic projection slope (β) of 6, achieving uniform temperature distribution and efficient phase transitions. The topology-optimized design reduced chip and heat sink temperatures by 2.65 °C and 3.51 °C, respectively, compared to the baseline model, while nanoparticle enhancement alone in Model 2 achieved reductions of 1.64 °C and 2.54 °C. A grid independence analysis and experimental validation confirmed model accuracy with an average deviation of 3 %. This study therefore brings an optimized heat sink design utilizing topology optimization to create compact cooling solutions for high-power density electronics. • The study proposed a unique optimized heat sink configuration for electronic chip cooling. • The performance of developed heat sink is analyzed and compared to baseline models. • Results show superior performance of proposed design couple with S-S NPCMs.