Numerical investigation of passive cooling enhancement using nano-encapsulated phase change materials in electronic thermal management systems

Abstract

• Investigates passive cooling with nano-encapsulated PCMs for efficient electronic thermal management. • Analyzes effects of Rayleigh number, cavity tilt, and nanoparticle volume on thermal performance. • Uses numerical conjugate heat transfer to model fluid flow and temperature distribution in the system. • A 6% nano-PCM mix achieves up to 6.16 K average cooling at high Rayleigh numbers, enhancing system efficiency. The increasing demand for compact, high-performance electronic devices has led to the development of more efficient thermal management systems (TMS). Using passive solutions without mechanical intervention is one of the key challenges associated with removing localized heat from high heat-generating elements. This study investigates the use of nano-encapsulated phase change materials (NEPCMs) as part of a natural convection mechanism (NCM) to improve passive cooling performance. A square model with a central cavity filled with HHGE was used to simulate the mixture of HHGE and water-NEPCM. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach incorporating conjugate heat transfer (CHT) was employed to investigate the influence of three critical parameters: Rayleigh number (Ra, ranging from 10 3 to 10 6 ), cavity inclination angle (ξ, varying from 0° to 90°), and nano-encapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) volume fraction (φ, spanning 0–6 %). This comprehensive analysis aimed to elucidate the thermal and fluid dynamic behaviors within the system under various conditions. Results show that increasing NEPCM content to 6 % decreases the average hot element temperature (ATHE) by up to 0.58 K at high Ra. Furthermore, increasing Ra improves heat transfer, resulting in a reduction of ATHE by 3.12–6.16 K. The findings of this study contribute to the development of passive TMS strategies for electronics that are energy-efficient.

Topics & Concepts