Thermal energy storage composites containing phase change materials (PCMs) can act as efficient cooling components when applied suitably to utilize the material’s melting process and allocated volume. These composites benefit from the combination of the high thermal capacity of the PCMs and the high thermal conductivity of the, usually, metallic component. Previous literature has pursued high-performing system designs using various avenues of investigation. However, there is a lack of exploration on application-based design accounting for the application’s thermal load and design constraints. Application-based design is accomplished in this work by tuning the composition and spacing of the two composite components resulting in the desired thermal response for the application. Application-based design is key to produce an optimally performing system and deviations can lead to underperformance compared to more conventional systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This work presents the development and application of a framework for determining the optimal composition and spacing of a PCM composite system. The focus of this work is specifically finned PCM composite heatsinks, which represent the upper limit for anisotropic heat transfer. The first step in the process of generating an optimal design is to identify the application’s thermal load magnitude, relevant time scales, and any geometric constraints. During this step, it must also be established what performance metric the system will be assessed by. Using these initial parameters an optimal internal constituent composition is determined. Results demonstrate that depending on the thermal loading, the optimal internal constituent composition is governed by the rate of thermal energy absorption or the total thermal capacitance of the system. Lastly, the calculated composition is used to determine an optimal fin spacing. &nbsp;The optimization framework is then compared to numerical and experimental testing. Numerical simulations allow for rapid testing of different system layouts which validate the analytical optimization models. Additionally, direct analytical and numerical comparisons are used to assess the time scales and loading magnitudes over which the developed models hold relevance. Comparisons to experimental tests provided similar insights and demonstrate the real-world benefits of the design methodology developed herein.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In summary, this study provides a comprehensive design process for generating optimal PCM composite system configurations. Importantly, optimal systems show great improvement over arbitrarily designed systems. The results of this process show high agreement when compared against numerical and experimental testing.

An Application-Centric Design Tutorial for Phase Change Material Composites

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/InterPACK/InterPACK2021/volume/85505

ASME 2021 International Electronic Packaging Technical Conference and Exhibition (InterPACK2021)

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