An Investigation into the Effects of Various Phase Change Materials on Industrial Electronic Systems' Cooling Rates Through Experimentation Based on a Specific Dimensionless Number

Abstract

The development of electronic equipment depends on the performance of their processors, which themselves require operating at low temperatures. So, solutions that can keep their temperatures low are significant for the advancement of this valuable industry. This study attempts to find an effective solution to this problem in a practical case, which is the ASUS GT 730 silent graphics card. The working condition of this processor's heatsink is simulated by a heat source with 1.7- and 2.1-W heat flow rates. To cool down the system, a new experimental setup is proposed, in which the heatsink is placed inside an aluminum box where water flows through a copper pipe. In addition, two phase change materials (PCM), including Lauric Acid and Paraffin wax, with different volume percentages, are separately injected into the box to examine the influence of the properties of these materials on energy storage. Hence, 18 modes are obtained based on heat flux, PCM type, and their volume percentages. To compare the effectiveness, a dimensionless number is introduced as a special measure based on the time duration recorded for each mode, named dimensionless melting time efficiency (DMTE). This number, which adapts to the physics of the process, is defined as the ratio of the total heat input to the total heat capacity of PCM (sensible and latent). This new setup, together with the definition of the dimensionless number, provides an appropriate tool for achieving the best arrangement selection for higher thermal energy absorption. The results show that the presence of phase change materials, regardless of their type, will increase the efficiency of the system. Furthermore, using the maximum volume percentage of the phase change material will maximize the cooling efficiency of the system, where DMTE can be reduced by around 64 % for both PCMS and both input heat flow rates from 25 % volume percentage to full. Also, it is concluded that the choice of Lauric acid as phase material change for this case can enhance the performance of the system, where DMTE of Lauric acid decreases by 6.25 % for an input heat flow rate of 1.7 W and 9.68 % for 2.1 W than paraffin wax when the volume percentage of PCMs is maximum. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.