Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839

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Applied Thermal Engineering

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Phase-change materials for thermal management of electronic devices

Vincenzo Bianco a , Mattia De Rosa b ,∗, Kambiz Vafai c
a
Department of Mechanical, Energy, Management and Transportation Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy
b
Engineering Research Group, Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sassari, Italy
c
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California, Riverside, 92521, CA, United States

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The increase in power density of electronic devices, driven by the higher performance and miniaturization
Phase change materials demands, has led researchers seek new and alternative thermal management techniques. Since most of the
Electronics electronic devices often experience high frequency power cycles, cooling systems must also be capable of
Batteries
managing transient thermal profiles to delay the temperature response and reduce the temperature gradients
Heat transfer enhancement
within the device, which can cause thermal stresses and, in the long run, the failure of the electronic
Thermal management
device. The integration of Phase-Change Materials (PCM) into heat sinks for electronic devices represents
an interesting technique to increase the thermal inertia of the cooling system, while also ensuring more stable
operating temperatures within the electronic components. However, several technical challenges still limit their
commercial viability in electronic applications. The present paper critically discusses the latest research trends
in this field, with a special focus on electric batteries, power electronic and portable device applications.
Methods to enhance PCM-based heat sinks for electronic devices are also discussed. Generally, integrating
PCMs into the thermal management system of electronic devices is an effective technique to reduce hot spots
(between 6%–10%) and have a more uniform temperature distribution inside the component. However, more
experimental research is needed to test their suitability over extended usage period and to establish practical
design procedures.

1. Introduction following the development of electric vehicles (EV), portable compact

The rising demand for augmented performances of electronic de-
vices has propelled manufactures to increase the level of miniaturiza-
tion of their products. Consequently, the power density of electronic
components has continued to rise steadily over the last decades. This is
the case, for instance, for commercial processors where power densities
have reached values greater than 100 W∕cm2 [1,2], as shown in Fig. 1.
These higher power densities are generally localized and, thus,
creates local thermal hot spots with values between 0.1–1 kW∕cm2 [3],
which can lead to high local temperatures, often above the recom-
mended thresholds [1], and large temperature gradients (e.g., 5 ◦ C–30
◦ C) within the component [4]. Prolonged high temperature opera-
tions may result in performance impairment and, eventually, failure
of the electronic device. This risk is particularly high for fast switch-
ing frequency equipment, where strong temperature variations can
cause thermal and mechanical stresses which, if not controlled, may
undermine the component reliability and safety [5].
Similar issues also occur in electro-chemical batteries – such as, Li-
ion, sodium-based, Nickel-based and lead–acid batteries, etc. – which
have gone through a large technical improvement over the last decade
devices and stand-alone electric storage deployments. Battery packs can
suffer from overheating due to internal heat generation, especially if
high charge/discharge rates are applied [6]. In the long run, thermal
stress and corrosion induced by off-design hot spots reduce the battery
efficiency and its operating life span. Therefore, thermal management
systems, capable of dissipating the heat generated by electronic devices,
need to be designed to contain the temperature rise within acceptable
values, to limit hot spots and manage thermal transients induced by
high frequency operating cycles [7]. In this context, four levels of
complexity can be identified as function of the cooling system scale.
Starting from the smallest scale, they are: (i) transistor level, (ii)
chip/module level, (iii) board level and (iv) packed system level [2].
While the thermal management at the smallest transistor scale is mainly
focused on the solid–solid interfaces between semiconductor compo-
nents and metal connections between transistors, the heat dissipation
at chip-module and board levels is aimed at reducing the temperature
gradients inside the components and, thus, limiting the risk of the hot-
spots. Finally, at packed system level, the cooling system is aimed at

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: vincenzo.bianco@unige.it (V. Bianco), mderosa@uniss.it (M. De Rosa), vafai@engr.ucr.edu (K. Vafai).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.118839
Received 29 November 2021; Received in revised form 15 May 2022; Accepted 9 June 2022
Available online 17 June 2022
1359-4311/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
V. Bianco et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839

during high-power operating periods, while their high thermal capac-

Nomenclature itance delays the temperature rise. Despite this promising framework,
𝛥ℎ𝑚 Heat of fusion (Jkg−1 ) several challenges and limitations in the use of PCMs for the thermal
𝑎𝑚 PCM melted fraction (–) management of electronic components – e.g., their low conductivity –
still require research efforts.
𝑐𝑝 Specific heat (Jkg−1 K −1 )
The present work provides a critical assessment of the latest re-
𝐶𝑃 𝑈 Central processing unit
search findings related to the use of PCMs for the thermal management
𝐸𝑉 Electric vehicles
of the electronic components. After introducing some general features
𝑓 Final state related to PCMs in electronic devices (Section 2), the selection of
𝐹 𝐸𝑇 Field-effect transistor the most promising technologies to integrate PCM into heat sinks of
𝐺𝑃 𝑈 Graphics processing unit electronic devices (Section 3) is presented, with a special focus on
𝐻𝑃 𝑆𝐿𝐷 High-power semiconductor laser diodes electric batteries, power electronic applications and portable electronic
𝑖 Initial state devices. Enhanced PCM solutions to improve the performance of PCM-
𝐼𝐶 Integrated circuits based heat sinks – i.e, combination with porous media and metal foams
𝐼𝐺𝐵𝑇 Insulated gate bipolar transistors – are outlined in Section 4. Finally, discussions and conclusions on the
𝑚 Mass (kg) status of the technology and future research directions are provided in
Section 5.
𝑀𝑂𝑆 Metal-oxide semiconductor
𝑃 𝐶𝑀 Phase-change materials
2. Overview of PCM applications in electronic components
𝑄 Heat flow rate (𝑊 )
𝑆𝐵𝐶 Single board computer Phase change materials (PCM) represents a type of material which
𝑆𝑆𝐷 Solid state drive undergoes through a solid–liquid state change during the charging/
𝑇 Temperature (◦ C) discharging processes, thus exploiting the latent heat of the material.
𝑇𝑓 Fusion temperature (◦ C) The interest in using PCMs for the thermal management of electronic
𝑇𝑚 Melting temperature (◦ C) devices lies on the possibility of exploiting the isothermal phase change
to reduce internal temperature spikes and to control the transient
temperature rise.
Generally, a heat charging and discharging processes between initial
removing the heat from the whole equipment and discharge it to the and final temperatures (𝑇𝑖 and 𝑇𝑓 ) in a PCM can be described as shown
environment. in Eq. (1), where 𝑄𝑃 𝐶𝑀 is the total thermal energy stored or released, 𝑚
Over the last decades, a lot of efforts have been put forward by is the mass of the storage medium, 𝑎𝑚 the fraction melted, 𝑐𝑝 the specific
researchers and scientist to optimize the thermal management of elec- heat (kJ∕(kgK)), 𝛥ℎ𝑚 the heat of fusion per unit of mass (kJ∕kg) and 𝑇𝑚
tronic components. Most of the technologies adopted for the thermal is the melting temperature [15].
management are based on heat sinks connected to the heat source
(i.e., motherboard, battery pack, etc.). The heat sink extracts the heat 𝑇𝑚 𝑇𝑓
𝑄𝑃 𝐶𝑀 = 𝑚𝑐𝑝 𝑑𝑇 + 𝑚𝑎𝑚 𝛥ℎ𝑚 + 𝑚𝑐𝑝 𝑑𝑇 (1)
from the thermal source (i.e., by conduction) and release it to the ∫𝑇𝑖 ∫𝑇𝑚
external environment. If this release is supported by a cooling system
Typically, PCMs are divided into three categories, as shown in
– such as, fans or cooling pipes [8] – an active thermal management
Fig. 2 [16]: organic compounds, inorganic compounds and eutectic
is employed. Otherwise, the thermal management is called passive [9].
mixtures. Organic compounds – e.g., like paraffin waxes (𝐶𝐻3 −(𝐶𝐻𝑛 )−
Generally, a proper design of the thermal management system is crucial
𝐶𝐻3 ), fatty acids, alcohols and glycols – are generally stable, recyclable
to achieve high dissipation rates and a uniform cooling, capable of
and non-corrosive and have an operating temperature range between
ensuring stable temperature profiles inside the electronic device [10,
16–70 ◦ C and an energy storage potential between 120–210 kJ∕kg [17].
11]. Heat sink geometry, thermo-physical properties of the material
The main disadvantages of organic PCM are represented b 𝑦 the low
and operating conditions strongly affects the efficiency of the ther-
thermal conductivity (about 0.2 W∕mK), flammability, instability in-
mal management system and, thus, the performance of the electronic
creasing with temperature and some degree of toxicity. Moreover,
device [12,13]. paraffin-based PCMs experience a large volume change during the
Nonetheless, high dissipation rates are not the only target of the phase change process.
cooling systems. As mentioned before, electronic components – like, Salt hydrates are typical PCM inorganic mixtures in the form 𝐴𝐵 ⋅
high power batteries, power electronics, micro-chips, etc. – often ex- 𝑛𝐻2 𝑂 in which the phase change process is related to the hydra-
perience high frequency power cycles, which can cause thermal stress tion and dehydration of the salt [15]. Several studies have demon-
and, eventually, failure of the electronic devices. Being capable of strated that salt hydrates have high volumetric latent heat capacity,
managing the transient thermal profiles during these cycles – e.g., by high thermal conductivity and low corrosiveness (if coupled with plas-
delaying the thermal response of the components – can ensure more tics), while they experience small volume variation during the phase
reliable and safer operating conditions for the electronic devices, thus change. However, the hydration process may not be uniform thus caus-
extending their life span [14]. ing solid residuals accumulation, temperature gradients and property
In this context, the integration of Phase-Change Materials (PCMs) differences between the components. For instance, 𝑁𝑎2 𝑆𝑂4 ⋅ 𝐻2 𝑂,
into heat sinks for electronic devices has attracted substantial interest the most common salt used for thermal storage, has an operating
among researchers and scientists, due to their potential in increasing temperature between 25–35 ◦ C with a latent heat capacity of 254
the thermal capacitance of the cooling system and, thus, improving the kJ∕kg [17].
management of the operational thermal response of the components. Metal alloys and compounds with low-temperature melting point
Generally, PCMs exploit the latent heat of fusion of the material during are another category of inorganic PCMs. Due to the higher thermal
their operation, thus undergoing through phase-state changes during conductivity and energy storage density per unit of volume, metal
the charging and discharging process (e.g., solid to liquid and vice- alloys have been suggested as a promising technique for PCM-based
versa). The isothermal nature of the phase-change process supports cooling in power electronic applications [18]. However, numerical and
the reduction of the peak temperature (i.e., peak shaving), especially experimental investigations are still scarce and fragmented and more

2
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 1. Historical trend of (a) number of transistors per integrated circuit (die) and (b) power densities of commercial processors over the last decades Smoyer and Norris [2].
Fig. 2. PCM classification [16].
research efforts are needed to fully understand and characterize their
performance and suitability [5].
Eutectic PCMs consist of a mixture of components – e.g., organic/
organic, inorganic/inorganic and organic/inorganic mixtures [17] –
which are generally developed in order to reduce the melting temper-
ature and to improve the thermo-physical properties of the resulting
blend, depending on the specific application. The current literature
on eutectic PCM is still scarce, despite some suggestions on eutectic
compounds have been made [19–21], and more research efforts are
needed to characterize optimal eutectic mixtures, to ensure high ther-
mal stability, low component separation and to address supercooling
issues (Section 2.2). A recent review by Singh et al. [22] summarizes
the current state of art of eutectic-based PCMs.
2.1. PCM containment for electronic applications
Specific containment acting as a barrier between the PCM and other
components must be designed in order to (i) ensure PCM structural
integrity, (ii) guarantee the corrosion resistance, (iii) favor the process
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
and (iv) ensure the long-term thermal stability of the PCM. Generally,
technologies for the PCM containment can be divided into four cat-
egories depending on the dimension of the single PCM package [23,
24]:
• Bulk containment: it consists of a relative large size PCM stor-
age inside a metallic or plastic enclosure specially designed to
increase the heat transfer (e.g., fins) López-Navarro et al. [25].
• Macro-encapsulation: PCM is packaged into capsules with di-
mension greater than 10−2 m [26], which are then stored into
containers with a specific geometry designed to increase the heat
exchange surface.
• Micro-encapsulation: it includes all applications in which PCMs
are encapsulated into small capsules (between 10−3 m and 10−2
m). Micro-encapsulation techniques lead to a better matching
between the PCM storage and the other components, while also
allow high customization degree and transport flexibility [26].
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 3. Desirable properties of PCMs for their application in electronics applications [9]. The typical low thermal conductivity of PCM still represents one of the major challenge.
• Nano-encapsulation: PCM is embodied in very small particles with
a dimension lower than 10−3 m, thus reducing the phase segrega-
tion at a nano-scale level and improving the cycle stability [27].
Generally, the integration of PCM in electronic devices requires
different levels of packaging, depending on the geometry of the specific
application. Most of the research carried out on PCM-based thermal
management for power electronics – e.g., transistors, chip-sets, batter-
ies (see Section 2) – adopted small PCM bulk containment inserted
into finned heat sinks [28–30]. Notwithstanding, the latest research
trend shows an emerging interest in developing novel micro/nano
flexible encapsulation techniques to incorporate enhanced PCMs com-
pounds (e.g., PCM-film with reduced thickness, paraffin-based micro-
encapsulated PCM, etc.), due to the increasing miniaturization of the
electronic components, especially for portable devices [31,32], as it will
be described in Section 3.3.
2.2. Outstanding challenges and limitations
The suitability of a PCM for the thermal management of electronic
components depends on several properties, as listed in Fig. 3. Generally,
choosing the right PCM requires several technical, economic, safety
and environmental considerations driven by the type of application
and operating conditions. As a first consideration, the PCM melting
point needs to be in a temperature range compatible with the specific
application analyzed. Higher latent heat per unit of mass, high specific
heat in the solid phase and high thermal conductivity are desirable
aspects to reduce the amount of PCM required and to increase the heat
transfer, thus reducing the charging/discharging times. Furthermore,
a low shrinking coefficient and volumetric expansion coefficient allow
low variations of thermophysical properties and volume change during
the phase-change process.
Even though most of the criteria can be met by PCM, they still
face several issues (listed in Table 1) limiting their deployment in
electronic applications. In particular, PCM low thermal conductivity,
and the consequent slow heating/cooling process, is still a challenge,
especially in those applications characterized by fast heat transients.
In order to overcome this limitation, PCMs need to be associated with
high thermal conductivity materials to support the heat transfer rate.
The use of metallic fins, nano-particles and metallic foam matrices
have been suggested as heat transfer enhancement techniques for PCM
systems. For instance, Şahan et al. [33] demonstrated that using a 80%–
20% paraffin-Fe3 O4 PCM mixture allowed an increase of the thermal
conductivity by 60%. A comprehensive review of these methods applied
to the electronic sector is reported in Section 4.
Another phenomenon limiting the PCM performance is represented
by the phase segregation related to thermal instability of the compound
which can lead to an increase of the melting temperature. It generally
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
occurs with PCM based on multiple components (e.g., salt hydrates),
especially for low-temperature applications as shown by Oró et al.
[35]. Furthermore, the supercooling effect is another common problem,
especially for inorganic PCMs, which consists of the delay in starting
the solidification process during the discharge process typically caused
by heterogeneous geometries and nucleation at the surface of heat ex-
changers [37]. This delay leads to part of the liquid fraction to solidify
at a temperature lower than the PCM freezing temperature, causing
temperature gradients inside the PCM volume and, consequently, the
delay in starting the phase-change [36].
Other common problems with PCM are represented by flammability
and corrosion. Organic PCMs can be flammable under certain operating
conditions, which poses important safety risk, especially in electronic
components. Typically, the flammability risk is assessed by evaluating
the ignition time, component stability, smoke and mass losses [38].
Flame retardants made by phosphorous and nitrogen can be employed
to improve safety, while other techniques like graphite and nano-
silica flame retardants are still under investigation. Finally, corrosion
is an important aspect for PCM, since it affect the suitability of the
PCM containment technique adopted. As shown in Section 3, most of
the PCM-based heat sink structures are made by metal alloys, which
typically experience a high degree of corrosion, especially for salt-
hydrates, as demonstrated by Oró et al. [39] and Calabrese et al. [41].
This represents a barrier to the use of salt-hydrates in power electronic
applications.
3. PCMs for thermal management of electronic components
Generally, the thermal management of electronic components can
be classified into (i) active and (ii) passive systems [9]. Active cooling
systems are mechanically driven – e.g., by fan-assisted cooling, spray
cooling, micro-channel with single or multi-phase flows [42], etc. –
and can ensure high heat removal capacity and a reasonable degree
of control of their working conditions. However, issues such as higher
maintenance, noise and vibration may occur. On the other hand, in
passive cooling systems, heat is removed without the assistance of any
external component — such as, heat pipes [43–46], heat sinks [11], etc.
Despite their lower heat removal capacity compared to active systems,
passive techniques represent an interesting solutions in electronic appli-
cations as they are noise-free and they have no parasitic consumption
and low operational and maintenance costs.
The integration of phase change materials (PCM) into heat sinks has
attracted a lot of interest by researchers due to their high latent heat
of fusion, low flammability and safety. During the device operation,
PCMs absorb the generated heat at a constant temperature while going
through a phase change (e.g., from solid to liquid). When the device
is turned off, the PCM releases heat to the external environment and
it starts the phase-change process in the opposite direction (e.g., from
V. Bianco et al. Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839

Table 1
General issues and challenges associated with the use of PCMs in electronic applications.
Challenge Description
Low thermal conductivity PCMs have a relative low thermal conductivity, which leads to a reduction of the heat dissipation
rate. The increase of the surface areas and the use of carbon-based and metal-based additives are
typically employed to enhance the heat transfer [33,34].
Phase segregation After a certain number of melting/solidification cycles, PCMs made by components with different
properties (i.e., salt hydrates) may segregate due to thermal instability [35].
Supercooling Delay in starting the process of phase transition to solid due to a nonuniform cooling. It is common
in inorganic and organic micro-encapsulated PCMs [36,37].
Flammability Some organic PCMs can be flammable under specific working conditions; flame retardants like
phosphorous and nitrogen, can be employed to reduce the PCM flammability [38].
Corrosion Some compounds like salt hydrates are corrosive to metals, thus requiring proper containment design
(see Section 2.1). Generally, copper and carbon steel must be avoided, while aluminium is not
recommended. Stainless steel and polymer materials show higher resistance to corrosion [39].
Costs Market cost is driven by raw elements price, additives and containment methods. While raw materials
are not expensive, additives and encapsulation process may increase the cost between 45%–65% for
organic and paraffin-based PCMs, and between 30%–35% for inorganic compounds [40].

liquid to solid). Therefore, the main motivation of including PCM into
electronic devices is the need to reduce their operating temperature
over a specific period of time while also increasing the thermal response
of the equipment. Most of the numerical and experimental researches
carried out are aimed at [5,47]:
• determining the magnitude of the reduction of the maximum
operating temperature (i.e., peak shaving) achievable due to the
PCM;
• calculating the temperature response of the PCM under transient
heat pulse;
• identifying the critical aspects – e.g., geometry, configuration,
PCM thermo-physical properties, active/passive cooling, enhance-
ment techniques, etc. – influencing the performance of PCM-based
heat sink for electronic devices;
• developing methodologies and guidelines for the design of PCM-
based cooling system depending on the application type (i.e.,
macro/micro applications, high power devices, etc.).
The following sections provide a critical overview of the main
applications of PCM-base cooling systems for the thermal manage-
ment of electronic components, with a special focus on electric bat-
teries (Section 3.1), power electronic (Section 3.2) and portable device
(Section 3.3) applications.
3.1. Electric batteries applications
Reliable and efficient electric energy storage is widely recognized
as a fundamental pillar of the sustainable transition since they allow
increasing the flexibility of the power network in balancing power gen-
eration and demand [48] and, therefore, unlocking higher penetration
of stochastic renewable energy [49]. Among all technologies available
to store electric energy, electrochemical storage (i.e., Li-ion, sodium-
based, Nickel-based and lead–acid batteries) have experienced a sub-
stantial development and influence on different sectors, from small
compact devices to applications related to buildings, power systems and
transportation sectors.
Generally, the charge/discharge capabilities (i.e., charge/discharge
current) of a battery are measured by the so-called C-rate, which is
defined as the rate at which the battery can be charged or discharged
with reference of its maximum capacity. For instance, a battery with
nominal capacity of 100 Ah and a C-rate equal to 1C is capable of
providing 100A for 1 h, while the same battery with c-rate equal to 0.5C
can provide 50 A in 1 h. This parameter is extremely important from
a thermal management point of view since a battery with high charge
and discharge rates suffers from higher temperature rise, due to internal
losses which can reach values above the standard operating values
(i.e., 60 ◦ C) [6,50]. Prolonged high operating temperature cycles leads
to a reduction of the battery efficiency and compromise its operating
life. This issue becomes more severe in the case of compact devices,
such as battery packs, in which many batteries are closely packed
together [51], where spatial constraints limit the heat dissipation.
The design of battery thermal management systems is therefore
paramount to dissipate the excess heat generated by the battery and
contain the temperature rise within acceptable values [52]. Generally,
active cooling systems made by fans or cooling pipes are employed for
this purpose (a comprehensive review can be found in Liu et al. [8]). In
this context, the integration of PCM into thermal management systems
for large battery packs and batteries with high charge/discharge rates
have been suggested by various researchers to improve the performance
of the heat removal system and stabilize the operating temperature of
the batteries. The effectiveness of this solution was demonstrated ex-
perimentally by Al Hallaj and Selman [53], who also discussed several
aspects on PCM thermal properties, configurations, PCM encapsulation
and possible heat transfer enhancement techniques.
Typically, PCMs are integrated into heat sinks, made by metal or
other high thermal conductivity materials, by filling the air gaps (see
Fig. 4), various configurations can be adopted [28]. Khateeb et al.
[54] tested the integration of PCM (paraffin wax) for the thermal
management of the Li-ion battery of an electric scooter. Three different
configurations were adopted: (i) PCM without any additive, (ii) PCM
with aluminium metallic foam and (iii) PCM with aluminium metallic
foam and fins. The numerical analysis was performed under different
ambient temperature conditions in the range 0–40 ◦ C. All configu-
rations demonstrated to be capable of reducing the battery working
temperature, although including the metallic foam and fins proved to
be necessary to guarantee high performance under stress conditions
(i.e., high discharge rate and high ambient temperature). The results
were confirmed by a subsequent experimental work from the same
authors [55], where the temperature profiles of the battery pack were
recorded. The PCM was capable of reducing the operating temperature
by 8–10 ◦ C (i.e., 50% drop in the temperature rise), with the better
results obtained by the configuration with metallic foam and fins.
Similarly, Duan and Naterer [56] investigated two configurations of
PCMs for the thermal management of a battery cell, simulated by an
electric heater. The two configurations were (i) a cylindrical container
filled with PCM and (ii) a PCM sheet wrapped around the heater. The
experimental results showed similar performance with reductions of
the temperature increase in the range of 5–8 ◦ C and stable operating
temperature < 60 ◦ C.
Since the effectiveness of integrating the PCMs in batteries and bat-
tery packs was demonstrated by several authors, latest researches have
been focused on improving their design and increase the performance
by investigating new PCM mixtures and enhanced cooling techniques.
For instance, Lv et al. [58] developed a battery thermal manage-
ment technique based on a composite PCM consisting of expanded
graphite, paraffin and low-density polyethylene coupled with low fins.

5
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 4. Example of PCM-based thermal management of electric battery.
Source: Adapted from Wang et al. [57].
The composite PCM was prepared through a physical mixing method
which permitted obtaining a final compound with different expanded
graphite/paraffin mass ratios. In particular, the authors tested two com-
pounds with mass ratio of 7:3 and 1:9. The experimental testing of the
novel composite PCM configuration showed sufficient heat dissipation
rates, since it was capable of keeping the battery operating temperature
at about 50 ◦ C at high discharge rate.
Generally, an operating temperature of 50 ◦ C of the battery is
widely recognized as acceptable, since higher values can accelerate its
performance degradation [59]. Song et al. [60] introduced a battery
working time 𝑡50 , defined as the time required by the battery to reach
the temperature of 50 ◦ C, as a benchmark to measure the transient
thermal performance of the heat sink. In their work, the authors
investigated the melting process of a composite paraffin-based PCM –
with a melting temperature of 41–44 ◦ C, density of 880 kg∕m3 and
thermal conductivity of 0.13 W∕(mK) – coupled with a fin structure for
a cylindrical battery pack by using different geometrical configurations
(e.g., PCM-layer radius thickness, battery spacing, heat) and battery
heating power. The results showed that it is possible to optimize the
heat sink configuration, by varying the battery spacing and PCM size,
to achieve the required thermal performance for prolonged period of
time.
Wu et al. [61] tested experimentally a finned copper-mesh with
paraffin and expanded graphite as a composite PCM for the thermal
management of a battery pack under several discharge rates. The
configuration displayed better heat dissipation performances than tra-
ditional systems. In a subsequent work [62], the authors enhanced the
configuration further by inserting a heat pipe system to support the
heat removal. During the charging/discharging phase, the PCM absorbs
the heat generated by the battery, while the evaporating section of the
heat pipe transfer it to the condenser section where it is discharged to
the external environment. The experiments have demonstrated that the
heat pipe-PCM system was capable of maintaining the battery operating
temperature below 50 ◦ C, even under high discharge rates (i.e., 5C). A
sensitivity analysis on different design parameters (e.g., PCM thermal
conductivity, PCM thickness, heat pipe length, etc.) were performed to
optimize the system configuration [63].
Zhang et al. [30] developed an experimental test on the thermal
management of a FePO4 battery inserted in cylindrical cavities of an
aluminium module covered by a novel aluminium-nitrite composite
PCM. The aluminium-nitrite was used to improve the thermal conduc-
tivity of the mixture, and different percentages between 0% and 25%
were investigated. The resulting compound was a solid composite PCM
with an average density of 0.89 g∕cm3 . The results showed an improve-
ment of the heat dissipation of the battery pack and a reduction of the
maximum operating temperature of about 19% at high discharge rate.
Moreover, the authors investigated various mass fraction of aluminium-
nitrite (from 0% to 25%), showing a 20% value as the optimal design
strategy for this configuration.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
In a recent work, Choudhari et al. [64] investigated numerically the
thermal performance of different PCM-based heat sink configurations
for an EV lithium-ion battery module. The study highlighted that using
a PCM coupled with a fin structure layout in the internal cells allows
to dissipate effectively the heat stored, thus reducing the maximum
operating temperature by about 8% while resulting in a more uniform
temperature profile. Wang et al. [59] investigated both numerically and
experimentally the thermal behavior of a cylindrical battery coupled
with a composite paraffin (melting temperature of 44 ◦ C) and a fin
structure which showed the influence of ambient temperature and fin
configurations on the melting process. Their research was extended
in subsequent works [65,66], where the correlation between the heat
transfer characteristics for different paraffin-fin structures (i.e., acrylic
and metal housing) and the melting process was characterized. The
experiments showed that the use of an acrylic housing can lead to
the battery overheating and, in order to enhance the thermal per-
formance, the authors suggested adopting specially designed metal
housing instead.
Another technique for PCM integration for the thermal management
of electric batteries is represented by the so-called form-stable compos-
ites [67] in which paraffin waxes is directly blended with polymeric
matrix which acts as supporting material to prevent leakages. Despite
the well established and relatively easy production technology, the
strong rigidity leads to installation difficulties and possible low ther-
mal contact resistances. To overcome this challenge, Wu et al. [68]
developed a novel composite PCM, based on the incorporation of PCM
(paraffin) with a thermoplastic elastomer (olefin block copolymer) and
graphite, capable of maintaining the form-stable characteristic while
also having a higher degree of flexibility and a good thermal conduc-
tivity. Experimental tests conducted in a real battery application [69]
have shown that the new composite PCM can be easily installed and is
capable of maintaining the battery operating temperature below 50 ◦ C
during a full discharge process, with a recorded maximum temperature
of 43.4 ◦ C.
In conclusion, as shown in prior literature the integration of PCM
in electric batteries can help management of their thermal cycles by
delaying the temperature increment and reducing temperature hot
spots even under high charge/discharge rates. However, research ef-
forts are currently ongoing to establish installation procedures and the
development of new flexible compounds capable of adapting the batter
geometry. Moreover, it can be noted that most of the cited works
have focused their attention on the thermal management of batteries
for electric vehicle applications Indeed, the transportation sector has
attracted a lot of interest over the last decade due to an increase in the
usage of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide. Since the performance of
EVs is highly related to the adopted battery technology, efforts have
been made to optimize their design. Generally, the techniques used
to integrate the PCM in the electric vehicle batteries and their perfor-
mance does not differ from what has been outlined earlier [57,70–72].
Other aspects – such as system compactness [73], prevention of heat
V. Bianco et al.
propagation and thermal runaway under stress conditions [74], and the
effect of vehicle vibration on the PCM performance [75] are aspects
which needs more investigation.
3.2. Power electronic applications
The thermal management of high-power electronic components,
which may experience transient high voltages and currents, is
paramount since high temperatures are detrimental to their operating
conditions and life expectancy. Switching devices – such as insulated
gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) and metal oxide semiconductor field-
effect transistor (MOSFETs), which are typically employed for traction
applications, power generation and management – suffer from strong
temperature cycling, which is considered one of the major cause of
the system failures [76]. The internal electric resistances of leads,
transistors and silicon layers cause significant heat generation, which
needs to be removed in order to contain the temperature rise. This heat
generation is particularly excessive when high switching frequencies
occurs [1] causing thermo-mechanical stress to the component junc-
tions – where materials with different thermal expansion coefficients
are in contact [77] – which, eventually, may lead to malfunctioning
and physical damages of the electronic component.
Different techniques have been developed and implemented to man-
age the heat generation of IGBT systems — such as, air cooling,
forced convection liquid cooling, spray cooling, jet impingement and
two-phase flows [78]. Among all the techniques, the use of PCM for
high-power electronic cooling has been investigated intensively over
the last few years. Typically, PCMs are inserted into specific contain-
ment layers installed directly on the heat sink structure to increase the
thermal capacity and, consequently, the thermal response. The heat
sink structure is generally metallic (i.e., aluminium), to guarantee high
thermal conductivity, with a fin structure to increase the heat exchange
area.
Chang et al. [76] had experimentally analyzed the performance
of a PCM-based heat sink for the thermal management of a 15 kW
IGBT system. The heat sink consisted of an aluminium container with
a closed cavity filled by paraffin and graphite nano-platelets. The ex-
perimental results showed that the adopted configuration is capable of
achieving a stable operating temperature for the IGBT system. They also
pointed out that the addition of graphite is paramount in improving the
performance of the heat sink. Hao et al. [29] analyzed the coupling of
a metal-based PCM integrated with molybdenum plate for a press-pack
IGBT to improve the thermal response time and the heat dissipation.
The simulations showed that the cooling system is capable of absorbing
the generated heat and reducing the IGBT junction temperature by 9
◦ C–16 ◦ C. Similar conclusions were found by Liu et al. [79], who tested
numerically different layers of a low-melting metal PCM integrated into
a fin heat sink for the thermal management of a thyristor system.
In the same context, the miniaturization and power increase ob-
served for microchips over the last decades has led to extensive studies
aimed at developing advanced thermal management cooling techniques
for their thermal management [81,82]. Issues such as limited space
for cooling system, reduced heat exchange areas, high power densities
are still to be addressed to ensure high dissipation rates for stable
and safe operating conditions. Farzanehnia et al. [80] investigated
experimentally the effects of a PCM heat sink coupled with carbon
nanotubes for the thermal management of a real electronic chipset
under steady and transient operating conditions (Fig. 5). The results
illustrated that the PCM coupled with carbon nanotube is capable of
reducing the cooling time approximately by 6% and also to reduce the
operating temperature under intermittent usage. The authors concluded
that the mix of passive and active (i.e., fan-induced forced convection)
is preferable, especially at high temperature ranges. This aspect was
also outlined by Joseph and Sajith [83], who investigated the perfor-
mance of paraffin–graphene composite PCM integrated into a hybrid
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
(i.e., active and passive) cooling system for high power electronic sys-
tems, under both steady and pulsating conditions. While the composite
graphene is capable of reducing the maximum temperature by 6 ◦ C
under steady heat generation only, the hybrid mode allows an extension
of the fan on-set time, with 11%–23% energy savings under periodic
heat generation.
The thermal management is a critical issue also for high-power
semiconductor laser diodes (HPSLD). HPSLDs consist of a laser diode
arrays converting injected electrons into photons and they are largely
used in telecommunications, medicine, industrial machining, image
scanning, military applications, etc. [14]. These systems have a high
optical efficiencies (e.g., 30 to 50%) with power density over 1 kW∕cm2
[84,85] and heat losses generally arising from optical conversion effi-
ciencies and contact resistances. These losses cause a surge in power
consumption and heat generation inside the component, which can
cause very fast temperature oscillation (of the order of 1–10 ◦ C in
microseconds) and, in turn, leads to a spectral shift of the emitted
laser [1]. Despite a large amount of research data demonstrating that
standard techniques – such as, micro-channel liquid cooling, thermo-
electric cooling and jet impingement [86–88] – can dissipate the heat
generated under steady state conditions, more efforts are required to
handle the fast thermal transients typically occurring in these compo-
nents [89]. Integrating PCM into conventional heat sinks for HPSLD
represents a promising technique to improve the optical efficiency and
reduce the thermal stress of these components. To the best knowledge
of the authors, very little effort has been made to test experimentally
the suitability of PCM for HPSLD devices, which represents a possible
application for PCMs and an interesting future research direction.
3.3. Portable devices applications
Over the last decade, the usage of portable devices – such as,
laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. – have been rising globally. Tech-
nological advancement has allowed more complex, miniaturized and
performing devices, which have a higher power density, which in turn
leads to higher internal heat generation. Consequently, the design of
effective thermal management systems for portable devices has become
paramount to ensure users’ comfort and safety, while also reducing
the risk of malfunctioning or failure [90]. Generally, larger devices
– such as, personal computers and laptops – rely on fans and heat
sinks for dissipating the heat generated by the central processing unit
(CPU) [91]. This solution, however, is not feasible for compact devices,
like smartphones and tablets, and passive solutions must be adopted.
In this context, PCMs have attracted a lot of interest as a promis-
ing solution for passive thermal management of portable electronic
devices and several numerical and experimental investigations have
been carried out. As for instance, Tomizawa et al. [92] analyzed,
both numerically and experimentally, the integration of PCM sheets,
consisting of micro-encapsulated polyethylene composite material with
relatively high thermal conductivity, for a compact mobile device
simulated by an electric heater. The PCM consisted of paraffin, which
was micro-encapsulated by melamine resin, with a melting point of 32
◦ C, latent heat of 140–160 kJ∕kg and density between 300–600 kg∕m3 .
In particular, the authors investigated the influence of different PCM
mass quantities and geometrical configurations on the thermal response
and operating temperature of the device. The results showed that lower
operating temperature can be achieved due to the PCM layer, while a
delay effect between 16 − 24% occurred. These results were confirmed
by Ahmed et al. [93] who investigated the thermal performance of
PCMs encapsulated in a thin aluminium film and coupled with a PC
tablet was investigated under a continuous.
Recently, Li et al. [31] developed a PCM-film with reduced thickness
(i.e., 0.4 mm), based on n-octadecane and semi-refined paraffin wax,
with high flexibility degree which proved to be suitable for the instal-
lation in complex compact devices for heat dissipation purposes. High
latent heat is achievable (i.e., in the range 160–153 J∕K), while the
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 5. Experimental set up of a nanotube/paraffin based heat sink for the thermal management of an electronic device developed by Farzanehnia et al. [80]. (a) Heat sink
assembly. (b) Thermocouples positions and dimensions in mm. (c) Temperature response of the PCM and nano-PCM thermal module under 6.000 W∕m2 power density.
Source: Adapted from Farzanehnia et al. [80].
thermal conductivity is enhanced by using a graphene-based film (ther-
mal conductivity 1500 W∕mK). The experimental results have shown
that the PCM-film is capable of reducing the operating temperature of
the device up to 14.3 ◦ C, while the thermal control time is increased
by 32.4%.
Preliminary experimental research involving smartphone/tablet
motherboard were conducted by Ganatra et al. [94], who tested the in-
tegration of a PCM layer into a single board computer (SBC) where the
essential electronic components of common mobile devices (e.g., CPU,
GPU, SSD) were installed. The SBC simulated the operation of an
Android smartphone with benchmark applications. The PCM consisted
of three commercial wax-based paraffins confined into a copper-based
rectangular enclosures. The authors tested the thermal response and the
maximum temperature of the SBC with different PCMs configuration,
comparing the result with the benchmark test case (i.e., no PCM).
Generally, the inclusion of PCMs increased the time response of the
system and reduced the temperature of the hot spots. However, it was
noted that increasing the thickness of the PCM layer will cause an
increase in the thermal resistance between the PCM and the copper
heat sink, which in turn may jeopardize the heat dissipation rate.
Similarly, Zhu et al. [32] developed a micro-encapsulated PCM made
of paraffin wax and polyurea shells, which was then attached onto
the central processing unit (CPU) of a commercial smartphone. The
experimental results have demonstrated that the micro-encapsulated
PCM was capable of delaying the temperature rise during phone stress
operating condition (> 80% CPU maximum power) due to the high
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
thermal capacity which was attained after the installation of the PCM
(i.e., 115.2 J∕g−𝑃 𝐶𝑀) with significant temperature reductions (Fig. 6).
The device usage pattern has a paramount influence on the perfor-
mance of PCM cooling systems for a smartphone. Numerical and exper-
imental investigations carried out over the last decade demonstrated
that integrating PCMs into mobile devices leads to the stabilization of
its temperature over high-load time, thus reducing the user discomfort
related to excessive device temperature. As indicated in Setoh et al.
[90], PCM-based cooling system for mobile devices can be effective
only before the PCM is fully melted. After this point, the presence of
PCMs can deteriorate the heat dissipation rate and local overheating
may occur. Furthermore, it is also suggested avoiding the complete
melting of the PCM since the re-solidification process (i.e., PCM dis-
charging which can occur during CPU low loads) is typically longer
than the charging part (i.e., CPU high loads). Therefore, PCM thermal
management system is suitable for smartphones and other portable
devices under low to moderate operating conditions when usage does
not exceed the time needed to fully melt the PCM.
Generally, more research efforts are required to completely charac-
terize the performance of PCM for mobile devices. In particular, further
experimental tests to collect data to understand the influence of PCM
properties, containment structure and geometry, operating conditions
and design optimization techniques. This will unlock the development
of guidelines to support the standardization and commercialization of
PCM systems in portable electronic components.
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 6. Example of microencapsulated PCM for mobile phone cooling developed by Zhu et al. [32]. Four PCMs mixtures with different component concentration and core–shell
ratios were analyzed. (a) Silicon sheet with PCM installation layout. (b)–(e): Electron microscope images of the different mixtures analyzed. (f) Infrared thermal images of the
phone under intensive working operation. (g) Comparison of the temperature profiles, with and without the application of the PCM layer, under intensive working operation. (h)
Infrared thermal images of the phone during the subsequent cooling period. (i) Comparison of the temperature profiles, with and without the application of the PCM layer, during
the subsequent cooling period.
Source: Reprinted from Zhu et al. [32].
4. Enhanced PCM solutions for electronic applications
4.1. PCM combination with porous media and metal foam
Traditional heat sinks for electronic cooling are represented by
metal fins, usually utilizing aluminium or copper,by itself or along
with using a fan. They are usually jointed on the component to cool
it with the aid of thermal pastes to reduce the contact resistances.
These devices are quite effective in conducting the heat generated by
the operation of electronic devices, but their accumulation capacities
are quite limited. In order to improve their performances more sophis-
ticated devices are conceived by using other methods. Many authors
have focused on the combination of porous materials and metal foams,
with PCMs (Fig. 7).
Porous materials have high conductivity, but low thermal storage
capacity [97,98], whereas the opposite is true for PCMs. Thus, an
innovative concept is to couple these materials together and fill porous
materials with PCMs. In such a configuration, porous materials rep-
resent the thermal conductivity enhancers whereas PCMs guarantee
the storage capabilities. The addition of porous inserts within PCM
enhances the melting capacity. Xu et al. [99] demonstrated that the
addition of porous insert made by copper foam in a PCM-based hori-
zontal thermal storage can augment both the heat transfer and thermal
capacitance of the unit, leading to an increase of the melting rate by
five times with a consequent reducing of the melting time by 80%.
A parametric analysis was developed to determine the sub-optimal
position for the porous inserts and the porosity. This device can be
used to recover thermal energy for large power units to guarantees an
adequate cooling and an enhancement of the energy efficiency.
With advancements in manufacturing capabilities, porous structures
can assume specific shapes. As such, Gopalan and Eswaran [100]
proposed the coupling of PCMs with honeycomb porous structures.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
They considered different shapes for the honeycomb – i.e., square,
diamond and octahedral – to develop a parametric analysis for the
optimization of the PCM quantity to use in each of the considered
porous structures. The coupling between the porous material and the
PCM can be achieved in different ways. Nayak et al. [101] proposed
two configurations, one with the PCM distributed in a porous matrix
and another one where the PCM is integrated with highly conductivity
fins. They applied the two devices to the cooling of a chip. These
configurations allow a significant enhancement of the PCM thermal
conductivity and heat transfer inside the component, which lead to
a much higher performances than using the PCM by itself. Other
researchers have explored the same topic by developing experimental
and numerical investigations. The proposed analyses are generally
presented as passive solutions for electronic cooling, as shown in Qu
et al. [82], where a saturated copper matrix with PCM is considered,
or in Ghahremannezhad et al. [102] where the transient behavior of a
copper metal foam filled with a PCM, i.e., paraffin wax, is investigated
(Fig. 7).
When PCMs and porous materials are combined, many parameters
influence the overall performance of the system and, therefore, var-
ious authors have focused their analyses on device optimization and
parametric analysis. The aim is to find optimal values in terms of the
overall cost, filling ratio, porosity etc., or to establish the impact that
each parameter has on the overall efficiency of the system, in order
to concentrate the analytical effort on the most influential factors. To
this aim, Bianco et al. [95] proposed a novel finned heat sink based on
PCM and metal foams. The design of such a complex device required
the definition of many variables to achieve an optimized solution. The
optimization was developed with respect to the operational time and
device cost (Fig. 7a).
A relevant parameter which is often under investigation is the filling
ratio, namely the amount of PCM to be used. Different experimental
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 7. Examples of coupling of PCMs with heat transfer enhancers: (a) combination of PCMs with a metal foam and heat fins — reprinted from Bianco et al. [95]; (b) combination
of PCMs, nanoparticles, and finned surface [96]; comparison among different configurations, namely heat sink containing a combination of PCM with metal foam or pure PCM [82].
tests were developed in Zhu et al. [103] to find the optimal PCM
volume fraction and an optimal value of 2/3 was determined. Similarly,
the combination of a copper foam with paraffin wax is experimentally
analyzed in Ali et al. [104,105] where an average optimal filling
ratio of 0.8 was obtained. The filling ratio influences the weight,
cost, and life cycle assessment of the heat sink. Parametric analysis is
also proposed in other research works [106–109]. It is found that the
porosity and thermal conductivity of the porous structure are among
the most influential parameters in relation to the overall performances.
In particular, both the pore size and porosity have relevant effects on
the thermal performance of the whole system, especially at high heat
generation and low convective cooling conditions, which is a typical
situation for portable electronic devices [106]. Similar conclusions are
also obtained in Mesalhy et al. [107]. For each system an optimal
or equilibrium condition can be found. The deviation from this value
determines a worsening of the performance. In fact, a lower porosity
would reduce the thermal resistance of the system (i.e., more porous
material and less PCM) and the thermal storage capacity. A higher
porosity, despite the increase in thermal storage capability, does not
improve the performance [108]. On the contrary, melting temperature
of the PCM has no relevant effect [109].
To obtain further improvement of the system, some research works
[110,111] have proposed the coupling between PCMs and heat pipes.
The idea is based on the fact that heat pipes are efficient cooling
devices [112], capable of providing high heat transfer rates, whereas
the PCMs can be used as storing medium which can also be connected
with a heat exchanger for recovering the heat to be used in other
applications. The addition of PCMs was found to enhance the heat
dissipation rate by approximately 10% [111]. Other researchers have
proposed more complicated devices which include the utilization of
nanofluids [113–117], nanoparticles enhanced bio-based PCMs [118],
and carbon nanotubes [119]. All these systems target a further increase
in the thermal conductivity enhancement of the system in order to work
with higher heat generation rates.
Finally, it is important to mention the work of Righetti et al. [120]
who have highlighted the importance of considering real-life working
conditions for the improved heat sinks. The result of their experiments
have shown that the use of enhanced surfaces is not always the optimal
solutions when considering the junction temperature. This is especially
true when fast intermittent conditions are considered, since there is not
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
sufficient time to exploit the enhanced thermal conductivity. Generally,
it is relevant to define which are the system requirements and the real
operating conditions before considering enhanced cooling devices.
4.2. Enhanced PCM-based heat sink for electronic devices
Many researchers are engaged in studies to find simple solutions for
enhancing overall thermal performances of traditional heat sinks. An
interesting opportunity is represented by the coupling between finned
surfaces and PCMs. As discussed in the previous section, the idea is to
create a combined device which can optimize the high thermal capacity
of PCMs and the high thermal conductivity of traditional fins, usually
manufactured in copper or aluminium.
A common solution proposed in different works is the filling of the
air gap between fins with PCMs or to consider a matrix of pin fins satu-
rated with PCMs (Fig. 8). The transient behavior of n-eicosane coupled
with an aluminium heat sink is investigated in Arshad et al. [121].
They have indicated that a critical value of the heat generation can
be found and the system can guarantees a proper thermal management
up to this value only. When this value is exceeded, the overheating
may happen. Kalbasi et al. [122] have focused on the estimation of the
optimal fin space when RubithermTM RT-27 is used as a PCM. They
had determined some correlations for the estimation of the optimal fin
distance and volumetric fraction of the PCM. Similarly, the interaction
between the surface of a finned battery and a PCM, i.e., paraffin wax,
is considered in Weng et al. [123]. Different configurations of the fins
are analyzed to evaluate their impact on the overall performance.
In the analysis of heat sinks, it is necessary to consider different
operating conditions, since an electronic device may experience dif-
ferent thermal loads depending on the performed operation. In this
regard, Mozafari et al. [124] had analyzed a heat sink – composed of an
aluminium finned surface coupled with three different PCMs, namely
RT58, RT44 and eicosane – subjected to different heat fluxes simulating
different working conditions. They concluded that the joint utilization
of a finned surface and PCM is a winning approach for the thermal
management of high critical temperature devices.
To improve the design of PCM based heat sinks, it is necessary to
understand the heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics of the
melting flow, as illustrated in Bondareva and Sheremet [96], where the
combination of a copper finned surface with n-octadecane was inves-
tigated numerically in terms of heat transfer enhancement (Fig. 8b).
V. Bianco et al.
Fig. 8. Summary of some possible PCMs-based heat sinks configurations for electronic components: (a) Standard air-cooled heat (reference). (b) PCM integration into heat sinks.
(c) Air gaps filling with PCM in fin-based heat sink. (d) Hybrid PCM-air filling in fin-based heat sink. (e) Hybrid PCM-porous media integration in fin-based heat sink.
The thermal and fluid-dynamic fields were determined for different
melting stages until the complete change of phase (i.e., from solid to
liquid) and the heat transfer performance was measured. The results
showed that it is possible to optimize the fin configuration in order to
maximize the overall heat transfer of the PCM-based heat sink. Another
solution which is extensively investigated is the saturation of a pin-
finned surface with a PCM as reported in Arshad et al. [125] and Ashraf
et al. [126] where circular and squared sections pin fins coupled with
different PCMs, namely paraffin wax, RT-54, RT-44, RT-35HC, SP-31
and n-eicosane, are considered. They had investigated the impact of
pin dimensions and the filling ratio on the overall performance of the
system.
To exploit the advantages of traditional heat sinks and enhanced
PCM-based configurations, a hybrid solution is proposed in Kalbasi
[127]. In the hybrid heat sink, the fin spaces are alternatively filled
with PCM and air. High cooling performances are detected until the full
melting of the PCM, after which a sudden decrease occurs. Generally,
the hybrid structure allows an enhancement of the heat transfer from
the PCM due to a higher convective heat transfer coefficient (i.e., 50
W∕m2 K) when the complete melting occurs, compared to a purely
PCM-based solution.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
Another solution aiming at exploiting both the advantages of tra-
ditional and PCM-based heat sinks is presented in Kozak et al. [128]
where a novel device, composed of an aluminium heat sink partitioned
and filled with a PCM (i.e., eicosane), was presented. The cooling of
the chip was achieved with classical rectangular air fins. On top of the
air fins two conditions were considered, namely natural convection or
the presence of a fan. The authors had concluded that the use of PCM
is recommended when the share of latent heat is more relevant.
Cavities filled with PCMs highlight another possibility for the pas-
sive thermal management of electronic equipment as shown in El Omari
et al. [129]. In particular the best performances are obtained by en-
closures without corners. Other more sophisticated solutions are rep-
resented by fins or mini channels filled with PCMs [130,131] and
the utilization of innovative PCMs such as Field’s metal [132]. Filling
fins with PCMs allows the realization of effective compact cooling
devices operating under steady state conditions while stabilizing the
temperature in case of rapid changes [130]. Similar considerations can
be done for the mini channels where the hydraulic diameter is found
to be the most significant parameter [131]. Another option to obtain
enhanced performances is the utilization of more sophisticated PCMs
such as Field’s metal [132], an alloy of bismuth, indium, and tin, with
V. Bianco et al.
the following mass fractions: 32.5% Bi, 51% In, 16.5% Sn. The alloy
melts at 60 ◦ C and it is indicated in high heat flux electronic devices.
When a PCM based heat sink is considered, the number of pa-
rameters influencing the overall performance is very high. Therefore,
many authors have exploited optimization and parametric analysis in
order to determine optimal configurations or to identify the parameters
which have the most prominent impact. An optimization study was
proposed in Dammak and El Hami [133] where a reliability-based
design optimization for determining the optimal thermal configuration
which satisfies a given degree of reliability which showed to be capable
of reducing the operating temperature by 30%. Srikanth et al. [134]
analyzed a heat sink composed of aluminium fins filled with a PCM —
i.e., eicosane. The aim of their study is to optimize the system in order
to maximize the melting time of the PCM, while minimizing the solid-
ification time. They had numerically simulated 40 three dimensional
configurations. The output of their simulations was used in a neural
network and a multi-objective optimization was executed to determine
the optimal configuration.
Parametric analyses are developed in Wang et al. [135] and Kumar
et al. [136]. A parametric study of a PCM based heat sink for cool-
ing of portable electronic devices was also performed in Wang et al.
[135]. They investigated the impact of different parameters, namely
PCM volume fraction, temperature difference, aspect ratio, and PCM
properties, on the overall performance of the system. Their results
indicate that the inclusion of the PCM improves the overall system
performance. Similarly, a parametric analysis of an aluminium heat
sink partitioned in different ways by cross plate fins arrangement and
filled with different PCMs is considered in Kumar et al. [136]. They
concluded that the addition of PCMs to the heat sink is beneficial for
a better thermal management. They found that the PCM melting is
faster in the initial stages when a single cavity heat sink is considered,
whereas the complete melting is achieved quicker in multi-cavity heat
sinks.
In conclusion, the integration of PCM in heat sinks for electronic
devices have proven to be a promising technique to enhance the
thermal management. This integration can be made by filling the
air gap between the fins with PCMs. Considerable research has been
carried out in order to optimize the configurations and layouts under
different operating conditions. Parametric analysis has been carried out
to understand the influence of PCM volume fraction, operating tem-
peratures, aspect ratios and PCM thermophysical properties. Most of
these investigations were done numerically. As such it will be beneficial
to obtain additional experimental data to support the development of
market-ready solutions of PCM-based heat sinks.
5. Conclusions
The status of research on the application of phase-change-materials
for thermal management of electronic devices was investigated in this
work. This review provides an overview of the impact of the PCMs on
the thermal management of different devices and enhanced configura-
tions where PCMs are combined with heat sinks and porous materials.
The following conclusions are obtained based on the present work:
• PCMs are useful for the passive thermal management of electronic
equipment since they can provide a reduction of the hot spots
(i.e., temperature peaks) and achieve a smoother temperature
distribution. This contributes to guarantee a higher reliability of
the electronic devices.
• PCMs are effective in supporting the thermal control of bat-
teries for e-mobility. Their application in combination with ac-
tive cooling systems can result in optimal temperature operating
values.
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Applied Thermal Engineering 214 (2022) 118839
• PCMs are a useful aid for thermal management of power electron-
ics applications and portable electronic devices. These devices are
characterized by a limited availability of space, which limits the
size of the heat exchange device. The PCMs combined with active
systems and sinks can be utilized to control the temperature and
avoid overheating. Generally, maximum operating temperature
reduction between 9 ◦ C–16 ◦ C and energy savings up to 23% can
be achieved.
• The main limit of PCMs is represented by the low thermal con-
ductivity, which can hamper their effectiveness in some contexts.
To overcome this limit, PCMs can be combined with metallic heat
fins (e.g., by filling the spaces between fins) and porous materials
(e.g., saturation of metal foams with PCMs), thus creating a higher
effective thermal conductivity for the setup, which can lead to an
improved performance of about 10%.
• Particular attention should be devoted to the optimal configura-
tion of the cooling system, especially when PCMs are combined
with other cooling devices (e.g., heat sinks). Optimal filling ratios
or amount of PCMs to be added to the combined system is critical
in attaining an effective device.
Based on the above considerations, it can be concluded that PCMs
can continue to have an important role in the thermal management
of electronic equipment, due to their capability of reducing hot spot
temperature which creates a more uniform temperature distribution
inside the components. Future research should address the stability and
suitability of the PCMs over extended usage periods, as well as the
establishment of practical design procedures which can assist engineers
in the application of PCMs based cooling systems.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
Vincenzo Bianco acknowledges the support of
Ministero dell’Universitá e della Ricerca (MUR, Italy), grant number
PRIN-2017F7KZWS.
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