A review on thermal management methods for robots

In this study, various thermal management systems, which are designed for robotic systems, have been investigated. The robots are such a structure that consists of numerous different electronic components and devices. Such electronic parts have an operating temperature that directly effects the performance of the robot. Therefore, thermal management systems should be studied and designed carefully to meet the ideal working temperature of each component in the robot. In that case, thermal management systems for robotics system have been studied; challenges and future directions have been examined into two group: active and passive thermal management. Furthermore, thermal management methods of heat skins, heat spreaders, heat pipes, thermal interface materials (TIMs), phase change materials (PCMs), insulation materials, heater units, forced air and liquid systems and thermo-electric modules are studied in detail. The thermal resistance, performance effectiveness and COP values of different thermal management systems have been compared in this study to evaluate their performance in robotic systems. According to the literature studies, the COP values of active thermal management systems vary between 0.21 and 2.32, while the performance effectiveness values of passive thermal management methods change from 0.1 to 0.98.