Experimental and numerical studies on heat transfer from a PCM based heat sink with baffles

The goal of this paper is to focus on a strategy to reduce the discharge time for a heat sink filled with a Phase Change Material (PCM). Reducing the heat discharge time is one of the key criteria in the design of a PCM based heat sink used in electronics cooling. To date, almost all of the studies have focused on the improvement of charging time for continuous operation under heavy computational loads. However, when intermittent operations are considered, which are most likely to be encountered in practice, a reduction in the heat discharge time from the heat sink is as important as that of improvement in the charging time. This work reports the results of detailed experimental studies carried out to improve the performance of a PCM based heat sink in the discharging cycle using baffles. Baffles are horizontal plate fins made of aluminum, and the PCM used is n-eicosane. Among different fill ratios and orientations considered, the heat sink with a 99% fill ratio at 0∘ orientation offered the best performance. A numerical study is also performed on the best performing heat sink to ascertain the actual causes for the lower discharge time.