Parametric study of a heat sink based on phase change materials

This article presents a study on the modeling and simulation of phase change materials (PCM) applied to heat sinks to optimize the thermal management of electronic components. The goal is to reduce the base temperature, thereby extending operational time and ensuring system reliability.A parametric analysis is conducted, exploring four specific cases. The study aims to compare thermal performance based on the type of PCM, heat flux intensity, volume fraction, and heat sink geometry. For each case, the evaluation is based on the analysis of two thermal excitation phases: the charging phase and the discharging phase.For a heat flux of 1500 W/m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>, the results show that after 150 minutes of charging, n-eicosane exhibits the best performance, achieving a maximum base temperature reduction of 11%. Furthermore, optimal thermal management is achieved when the heat sink cavities are fully filled with PCM. Finally, a heat sink with a 2×2 matrix demonstrates a longer latent heat phase, leading to a delayed temperature rise.