Thermal management of electronic devices using carbon foam and PCM/nano-composite

•Detailed experimental data of a hybrid composite system for thermal management (TM) of electronics devices was obtained.•Entrapped MWCNTs in the CF micro cells have a significant effect on thermal response of TM modules.•Delay and decrease of Modules temperature increase with the inclusion of MWCNTs in the module.•TM modules with carbon foam KL1-250 have good capability to control high power loads as compared to CF-20.•Effectiveness of inclusion of MWCNTs was remarkable in TM modules based on CF-20 as compared to KL1-250.

A detailed experimental study of a hybrid composite system for thermal management (TM) of electronics devices was performed. Three different TM modules made of pure carbon foam (CF), a composite of CF and Paraffin wax (RT65) as a phase change material (PCM), and a composite of CF, RT65 and multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a thermal conductivity enhancer were developed and tested. Two types of carbon foam materials of different thermal conductivities, namely CF-20 of low thermal conductivity (3.1 W/m K) and KL1-250 of medium thermal conductivity (40 W/m K) were used in the three Modules. Tests conducted at different power densities showed a reasonable delay in reaching the heater steady state temperatures using TM module made of CF + RT65 as compared to pure CF. Heat transfer enhancement due to entrapped MWCNTs in the CF micro cells have a significant effect on the thermal response of the TM modules. The delay and decrease of heater surface temperature increase with the inclusion of MWCNTs in the TM module made of CF + RT65/MWCNTs. TM modules with enhanced thermal conductivity of carbon foam KL1-250 was shown to have good capability to control a high power loads as compared to CF-20. The effectiveness of inclusion of MWCNTs was remarkable in TM modules based on CF-20 as compared to KL1-250.