Investigation of Heat Transfer Performance of PCM/Copper Foam Composite Heat Sink for Electronic Devices

This experimental and numerical study is carried out in order to study the thermal performance of a composite plate (paraffin/copper foam) intended to cool portable electronic devices. In order to simulate the transport phenomena inside the plate, a microcellular 3D model with cubic centered body shape for a single cell is developed using COMSOL Multiphysics software. To calibrate the numerical model, experimental transient temperature profiles are used as inputs. The effects of the composite insert on heat dissipation are investigated and compared to other types of heat sinks.