Thermal performance analysis of metallic foam-based heat sinks embedded with RT-54HC paraffin: an experimental investigation for electronic cooling

Present experimental investigation focuses on the performance analysis of metallic foam and phase change material (PCM)-based heat sink at variable heat loads. High porosity (97%) copper and nickel foams are used with PCM (RT-54HC) to enhance the surface area for the heat transfer. Experimental results reveal that metallic foam-based heat sink embedded with PCM can reduce the base temperature of the heat sink efficiently. Copper foam is recognized to be more promising when compared to nickel foam in lowering base temperature for all heat loads (8 W, 16 W and 24 W). It was found that copper foam embedded with 0.8 volume fraction of PCM reduced the base temperature by 26% as compared to that of nickel foam without PCM at 24 W. Furthermore, when the PCM fraction is increased, final temperature of the heat sink gets lessened at the end of charging process while discharging process remains almost intact. So, in this study, copper foam with 0.8 volume fraction is determined to be an optimized configuration.