A comparative study of heat sink composites for temperature stabilisation

• Experimental study of innovative compact heat sink prototypes.
• Comparative study of various designs.
• Analytical analysis of the energy storage capacity.
• Experimental analysis of transient temperature stabilisation.

The present paper addresses the experimental and analytical investigation of heat sink prototypes encapsulated in aluminium casings. Three different configurations, i.e. paraffin, copper foam and paraffin, and aluminium fins and paraffin are investigated. The overall energy storage capacity and the transient thermal performance of prototypes are considered. For the analysis of transient behaviour, samples and heat source are thermally isolated from their surroundings and subjected to a constant heat flux. The change of temperature in the heat source over time is monitored in order to evaluate the potential of the prototypes for temperature stabilisation. In addition, the energy storage capacity of each sample is estimated using analytical formulae. In order to compare the effectiveness of prototypes, different designs with and without conductivity enhancing components are compared.