Thermal analyses of a PCM thermal control unit for portable electronic devices: Experimental and numerical studies

This Ph.D. research investigates the effectiveness of a Thermal Control Unit (TCU) for portable electronic devices. The TCU objective is to improve device thermal management, and it is composed of an organic Phase Change Material (PCM) and a Thermal Conductivity Enhancer (TCE). The TCU can provide a reliable solution to portable electronic devices, which avoids over heating and thermally induced fatigue, as well as a solution that satisfies the ergonomic requirement. The research examines the effectiveness of the TCU and optimizes its performance by performing experimental and numerical analyses. The thermal conductivity of the PCM is very low which make it ineffective. Therefore, TCE is incorporated into the PCM to boost its conductivity, and this research attempts to optimize the TCE effectiveness by performing numerical simulations. The TCE size and geometry effects on the TCU performance will be addressed, as well as the effect of the heat source power. The TCU structure is complex and modeling an electronic device with it requires effort and time. Hence, this research proposes approximate solutions for the TCU. The TCU component properties will be averaged and a single TCU material will be considered. This technique is evaluated by comparing the numerical results with the experimental results. The numerical model is used to study the effect of some important parameters that are expensive to examine them experimentally, such as the coefficient of heat transfer and the latent heat.