Thermal management of electronic components using Solid-Liquid and Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials – A review

Abstract

A review of experimental/computational study of using Phase Change Material for thermal management is
presented. The different types of PCM’s that can be used, criteria for their selection and their requirements are
also discussed. The present review focuses on usage of Solid-Liquid and Solid-Solid PCM of thermal management.
The enhancement techniques for thermal conductivity of PCM are also presented. The Various available PCM’s
are listed according to their classification and materials that have already been used for thermal management are
listed.

Contents

1. Introduction
1.1. Suitable temperature range for electronics
1.2. Requirements of Phase Change Materials for thermal management
2. Thermal management using Solid-Liquid Phase Change Materials
3. Classification of Phase Change Material
3.1. Organic Phase Change Materials
3.2. Inorganic Phase Change Materials
3.3. Eutectic Phase Change Materials
4. Thermal Management using Solid-Solid Phase Change Materials
5. Conclusion

1
Keywords

Phase Change Materials

Phase transformation
Thermal management
Electronics cooling
Thermal Properties

2
 1. INTRODUCTION

Thermal management of electronic components and processors in portable electronic devices

is one of the most challenging aspect in the improvement of their performance. Statistically, it has been shown
that since 1970, the power and density of transistors in a micro-processor has doubled every 18 months, thus
conforming to Moore’s law [1]. Also, the Improvement of thermal management is of utmost importance because
as the devices become smaller, the power density increases. The reliability of electronic components is severely
affected by temperature. Based on the study made by U.S Air force it may be noted that, 55% of electronic
component failure is due to the elevated temperature [2]. Current technologies for thermal management such as
air cooling and liquid cooling are associated with low heat transfer rate and high operation cost. Active cooling
systems such as fans are bulky and unreliable which makes it unsuitable for mobile applications.

Thermal management can be done by utilizing both the sensible and latent heat of the
material. The amount of heat absorbed by the sensible heat depends on the mass of the material, specific heat
and the difference in temperature as shown in Equation 1.

𝑄 = 𝑚cp(T2 – T1) (1)

Latent heat can be defined as the heat absorbed or emitted by a material when it undergoes
phase transformation. From the staring to the completion of the phase change a lot of energy is required. This
energy is stored in the form of latent heat. The amount of thermal energy stored can be determined from
equation 2.

𝑄 = 𝑚∆𝐻 (2)

3
 Latent heat is better suited for thermal management than sensible heat as it provides a very
high energy absorption density and maintains small temperature difference between the absorption and
emission of the heat.

Phase transformation in material has been employed for a variety of applications like thermal storage,
temperature stabilization of buildings and thermal management of electronics [3-10]. Phase change materials
(PCM) absorb or emit large amount of energy when it undergoes phase transition. The fundamental way of
classification of PCM is by grouping them by their transition states [11].

Figure 1 : Classification of PCM's based of transformation type[78]

The most commonly used phase transition materials are solid-liquid as it involves
a very high latent heat of fusion and large selection of materials. Solid liquid PCM’s can be classified into organic,
inorganic and eutectic. Solid-gas and liquid-gas cannot be effectively used for thermal management application
due to their large change in volume during transition. Another group of PCM’s are Solid-Solid PCM (SSPCM).
These type of material undergoes phase transition from one solid state to another. The major advantage of these
materials over S-L PCM is that they have negligible volume change during transitions and leakage of PCM can be
completely avoided. But S-S PCM’s have relatively lower heat of transition and lower thermal conductivity when
compared to that of S-L PCM.

4
1.1 Suitable temperature range of electronic

Generally, each IC chip has a different maximum allowable working temperature. But the global
maximum allowable temperature vary between 850C and 120oC [12]. Moreover, the temperature that is
comfortable for humans must also be taken into consideration. HenryDreyfuss Associates (1993) states that
metals and non-metals become disruptive to human tissue above 50oC and 62oC [13]. Furthermore, studies have
shown that humans can hold plastic comfortably up to 45oC [14]. So the PCM’s are used according to the
requirement. Table 1 shows the critical temperature of different type of processors. Critical temperature is the
maximum safe temperature at which the processor will work. It is advised to keep the CPU temperature 20oC
below the critical temperature[78]. This implies that the PCM’s that we can use can have transition temperature
range of 30-70oC.

Table 1: Examples of critical temperature for computer processors [78].

5
1.2 Requirements of Phase Change Materials for thermal management [15&16]

1. The melting/transition point of the material should be as high as possible for the given application.
2. Solid-Liquid PCM’s should have high latent heat of fusion and in case of SSPCM’s, it should have high latent
heat of transition so as to have large energy intake capacity.
3. Material should have high specific heat.
4. It should exhibit high thermal conductivity and high thermal diffusivity.
5. Material should exhibit little or no super cooling effect.
6. Solid- Liquid PCM must exhibit good wetting characteristics and congruent phase change.
7. Material should not undergo any chemical degradation while undergoing heat cycles.
8. Material should not show any chemical decomposition and must have very less volume change during the
phase transitions.
9. It should have high flash point and should be non-toxic.
10.It should be cheap, abundantly available and must be non-corrosive to the container in which it is stored.

2. Thermal management using Solid-Liquid Phase Change Material

Phase change cooling is an extremely promising passive cooling technique considering the various merits such as
high latent heat of storage, very low volume change, availability of various PCM’s at convenient melting
temperatures etc. The process of thermal management using PCM Occur in three stages. In the first stage the
PCM increases its temperature from ambient to its phase change temperature. In stage two, the heat absorbed
converts the PCM from its solid state to liquid state (Latent heat of melting). In stage three, the temperature of
the liquid PCM increases as the heat absorbed is converted into the sensible heat which is stored inside the PCM.
For effective working of thermal management using PCM, it is necessary to ensure that operation of the device

6
does not exceed stage 2. The molten PCM is again re-solidified when the device is idle. Also the sudden
fluctuations in power output can be converted into the oscillations in the solid -liquid phase change thus
preventing the damage to the electronic component.

Kandaswamy and Wang[17] experimentally proved that using Paraffin wax as PCM embedded in fins successfully
increased the cooling performance of the system. Increased power input from the heating plate increased the
melting rate and thermal performance of the PCM. Numerical studies conducted were in agreement with the
experimental result. The experimental setup and the type of heat sinks used are shown in figure 2 & 3
respectively.

Figure 2 : Cross sectional schematic of PCM filled heat sink.

7
 Figure 3 : Three types of heat sinks used in the experiment.

Zhang and Wu [18] successfully prepared a PCM board made of paraffin wax and expanded graphite as the base
and matrix respectively. The Phase Change Material board displayed much better cooling characteristics than
normal air convention. It was observed that by adding expanded graphite the weight increased by 20% but
resulted in the increase of the mixture thermal conductivity by 28 times.

Baby and Balaji[19] experimented on finned heat sinks filled with Phase Change Material (Eicosane filled in
Aluminum heat sink) on portable electronic equipment and came to the conclusion that heat sinks with fins filled
with PCM were successful in stretching the operation time of the device. An enhancement factor of 18 was
obtained in operating time when compared to that of a normal heat sink without fin. Figure 4shows the
schematic of the heat sink assembly they used. The resulting comparison of temperature rise of heater when no
heat sink, Plate type and pin type heat sink are shown in figure 5.

8
Figure 4 : Schematic of the heat sink assembly Figure 5 : Comparison of heat sink base temperature at 4W power input

Tan and Tso[20] conducted experimental study of using a Heat Storage Unit filled with Paraffin as the PCM. The
HSU was successfully able to stabilize the system temperature to a maximum of 50o C. Also it was proved that the
effectiveness of the HSU was directly proportional to the amount of PCM It contained.Hodes et al[5], studied the
thermal management of a handset using PCM such as Thermsorb-122 and Tricosane. Thermasorb-122 is a dry
Solid-Liquid PCM as the transition from solid to liquid of the PCM occur inside an encapsulation thus preventing
leakage. In an experiment in which 3W of power was supplied to the handset, the presence of just 10.9 g of
thermasorb-122 allowed three times longer use of the handset while the use 9.5 g tricosane (Volume of PCM was
fixed in each of the case) allowed 5 times longer use when compared to handset without PCM.

9
Figure 6: Thermal images of the front side of
handset as a function of time during heating
with a power supply of 3W.

Leoni and Amon[21], experimented the use of organic PCMs for transient thermal management of portable
electronics. The organic PCM used was housed in a highly porous aluminum foam to enhance the conductivity of
the whole system. They concluded that it was very important to use the PCM having the highest melting point
which can be incorporated successfully in the system as higher melting point PCM has two advantages. First,
higher temperature difference between the PCM and ambient during solidification results in faster recharging of
the PCM. Secondly, the case enclosing the PCM is at a higher temperature during melting resulting in better heat
transfer to the surroundings and thereby increasing the melting time.

10
Jorda et al [22] proved using experimentation that a PCM Thermal Management system (PCM-TMS : Copper
porous structure filled with paraffin) is better than using a copper spreader of similar size. Another interesting
observation made was that the PCM-TMS shows asymmetrical behavior during heating and cooling cycle because
of the non-uniform heating and uniform cooling of TMS when exposed to a Thermal Test Chip (TTC).

Krishnan et al [23] did a computational analysis on a hybrid heat sink which combines both active and passive
cooling. It consists of a plate fin heat sink with its tip inserted in phase change material. Even though traditional
heat sinks with fins completely immersed in PCM perform better compared to that of the proposed design, once
the entire PCM is transformed it would not be able to sustain the continuous dissipation and superheats the PCM.
The advantage of the hybrid heat sink is that when there is less convection available, the PCM will absorb the
excess heat generated and when there is sufficient convective cooling available the fins will dissipate the heat
thereby re-solidifying the PCM.

The low thermal conductivity of most of the PCMs presents the most significant challenge in design of heat sinks.
Various methods have been suggested to overcome this drawback. Mustaffar et al. [24] experimented on an
inexpensive method of using Expanded Metal Mesh (EMM) as a thermal conductivity enhancer. It was concluded
that the EMM reduced the melting time by 14%. Simulation done on the EMM proved that excellent contact
between the layers can give up to 81% reduction in melting time.

11
Figure 8: Some commercial variants of expanded metal mesh. Figure 9: Schematic of heat exchanger.

Py et al. [25] improved the conductivity of paraffin from 0.24 W m-1K-1 to (4-70) W m-1K-1 by using Compressed
Expanded Natural Graphite(CNEG). The use of porous graphite matrix lead to very high paraffin percentage (65-
95%). The advantage of using porous system is that its high surface area-to-volume ration leads to miniaturized
systems and improved heat transfer. Rao and Zang [26] experimented on paraffin graphite composite and the
XRD analysis showed that paraffin does not react with graphite and the resulting composite has a higher
conductivity than the base paraffin. This indicates that we can successfully improve the conductivity of paraffin
using graphite without leading to variation of chemical composition of base paraffin.

12
 3. CLASSIFICATION OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

Phase Change Materials can be classified as Organic, Inorganic and Eutectic PCM’s. The
following classification gives the various PCM’s which have been used for thermal management applications. The
following tables of Phase Change Materials have been compiled from various sources which used the materials
for thermal management, heat storage and thermal conductivity enhancement studies. The phase transition
temperature has been limited from 30-70oC as most of the electronic equipment works in this range. Highlighted
materials has already been used for thermal management.

3.1. Organic Phase Change Materials

Organic phase change materials are known for their high latent heat, negligible sub-cooling and phase separation
when compared to other PCM’s. Organic PCM’s are highly suitable for thermal management as they have a wide
melting point selection, nontoxic and noncorrosive. Most of them are cheaply available, shows negligible super-
cooling and have low volume change on melting. The main disadvantage of organic PCM’s is that they have
extremely low thermal conductivity. These can be overcome by using metallic filler, expanded graphite and
carbon fibers [27]. The following table (Table 2) gives the various Organic Phase Change Materials which have
been successfully used for thermal storage or management.

13
 TABLE 2 –ORGANIC PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

Substance Tm ΔH Cps Cpl ks kl ρs ρl Ref.

(oC) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kgK) (kJ/kg K) (W/mK) (W/mK) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)

31.5 153 - - - 0.149 - 886 28,32

Capric acid 32 152.7 - - - 0.153 1004 878 29
36 152 - - - - - - 30
32 152.7 1.9 2.1 - 0.153 1004 878 31
Trimyristin 33-57 201- - - - - - - 30
213
Rubitherm RT35 35 157 - - 0.2 - - 880 41
n-Eicosane 36.4 248 1.926 2.40 0.426 0.146 910 769 33,19
1-Tetradecanol 38 205 - - - - - - 43
38.05 205 - - - - - - 42
Camphenilone 39 205 - - - - - - 30
Docasyl bromide 40 201 - - - - - - 30
Caprylone 40 259 - - - - - - 30
Medicinal paraffin 40-44 146 2.3 2.2 0.138 0.583 830 - 44
40-44 146 2.2 - 0.14 2.1 830 - 45
Heptadecanone 41 201 - - - - - - 30
1-Cyclohexylo 41 218 - - - - - - 30
octadecane
4-Heptadecanone 41 197 - - - - - - 30
41-43 211.6 1.76 2.27 1.6 - 1007 862 46
Lauric acid 42-44 178 1.6 - - 0.147 - 870 28
49 178 - - - - - - 30
44 177.4 1.7 2.3 - 0.147 1007 862 31
Paraffin C16-C28 42-44 189 - 2.1 0.21 - 910 765 28
43.05 189 - - - - - - 42
Methyl-12 42-43 120- - - - - - - 43
hydroxy stearate 126

14
p-Toluidine 43.3 167 - - - - - - 30
Cyanamide 44 209 - - - - - - 30
Methyl 45 230 - - - - - - 30
eicosanoate
46.7 209 2.89 - 0.138 - 786 - 47
46.7 209 2.89 - 0.138 - 786 - 48
46.7 209 2.89 - 0.138 - 786 - 44
46.7 209 2.85 - 0.497 0.497 - - 49
P116 wax 46.7 209 2.89 2.89 0.138 0.138 786 - 50
46.7 209 2.89 - 0.14 - 786 - 45
46.7- 209 2.89 2.89 0.14 0.277 786 - 51
46.85
46.7- 209 2.89 2.89 0.138 0.277 786 - 52
46.85
47 226 2.51 - 0.358 0.24 802 - 53
49 210 2.9 2.1 0.24 0.15 860 780 54
Elaidic acid 47 218 - - - - - - 30
Paraffin C20-C33 48-50 189 - 2.1 0.21 - 912 769 28
49.05 189 - - - - - - 42
3-Heptadecanone 48 218 - - - - - - 30
2-Heptadecanone 48 218 - - - - - - 30
Hydrocinnamic 48 118 - - - - - - 30
acid
Cetyl alcohol 49.3 141 - - - - - - 30
Tricosane 48 234 2 - 0.2 - 790 - 20
Thermasorb – 122 50 160 2 - - - 900 - 20
9-Heptadecanone 51 213 - - - - - - 30
Thymol 51.5 115 - - - - - - 30
51.5 204.5 2.8 2.42 - - - - 55
Myristic acid 54 187 1.6 2.7 - - - 844 23
58 199 - - - - - - 30
58 186.6 1.7 2.4 - 0.150 990 861 31

15
Methyl behenate 52 234 - - - - - - 30
52 210 2.9 2.1 0.24 0.15 860 780 56
53 189 2.5 - 0.2 - - 770 57
53.5 266 2.5 - 0.21 - 810 780 58
Paraffin wax 58-60 214.4 0.9 - 0.2 - 850 775 32;
59
59.9 190 2.0 2.15 0.24 0.22 910 790 60
60 213 1.85 2.384 0.4 0.15 861 778 61

64 173.6 - - 0.346 0.167 916 790 29

64.05 173.6 - - - - - - 42
Pentadecanoic acid 52.5 178 - - - - - - 30
Diphenyl amine 52.9 107 - - - - - - 30
P-Dichlorobenzene 53.1 121 - - - - - - 30
54-56 186.5 2.83 2.38 0.18 - 1080 1150 62
55.1 160 1.6 2.2 - 0.172 965 848 63
58 169 1.59 - 0.29 0.29 903 - 53
Stearic acid 58.1 169 1.59 - 0.29 - 847 - 64
68.8 198.8 2.83 2.38 0.30 - 940 - 65
69 202.5 1.6 2.2 - 0.172 965 848 31
69.4 199 - - - - - - 30
70 203 - 2.35 0.172 0.172 941 - 23
Oxalate 54.3 178 - - - - - - 30
Hypophosphoric 55 213 - - - - - - 30
acid
O-Xylene 55 121 - - - - - - 30
dichloride
55 163 - - - - - - 30
57.8-61.8 201 2.0 2.37 0.16 - 942 862 66
Palmitic acid 61 203.4 2.20 2.48 0.16 - 942 862 67
64 185.4 - - - 0.162 989 850 29
64 185.4 1.9 2.8 - 0.162 989 850 31

16
 Tristearin 56 191 - - - - - - 30
Nitro naphthalene 56.7 103 - - - - - - 30
CH3COONa. 58 265 - - - - - - 30
3H2O 58,58.4 226, - - - - 1450 - 43
264
Paraffin C22-C45 58-60 189 - 2.1 0.21 - 920 795 28
α- Chloroacetic 61.2 130 - - - - - - 30
acid
Bee wax 61.8 177 - - - - - - 30
Paraffin C23-C45 62-64 189 - 2.1 0.21 - 915 790 28
Glycolic acid 63 109 - - - - - - 30
Paraffin C21-C50 66-68 189 - 2.1 0.21 - 930 830 28
Polyglycol E6000 66.05 190 - - - - - - 42
Azobenzene 67.1 121 - - - - - - 30
Paraffin C23-C50 67.25 189 - - - - - - 42
Acrylic acid 68 115 - - - - - - 30
Dinto toluene (2,4) 70 111 - - - - - - 30
Biphenyl 71 119.2 - - - - 1166 991 43
71.05 190 - - - - - - 42
3.2. Inorganic Phase Change Material

These PCM exhibit some problems like super-cooling, corrosion, phase segregation but these problems can be
avoided by using nucleating and thickening agent in process. Various advantages offered by these materials are
high density for thermal storage, nonflammable nature, large thermal conductivity and their Easy availability. Liu
and Chung[34] found out that Na2SO4.10H2O and CaCl2.6H2O with or without additives cannot be used a Thermal
interface material due to their poor cycling stability and high super-cooling of 8oC. the following table (table 3)
gives the various Inorganic PCM’s that can be used for thermal management.

17
 TABLE 3 –INORGANIC PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS
Substance Tm ΔH Cps Cpl ks kl ρs ρl Ref.
(oC) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg K) (kJ/kg K) (W/mK) (W/mK) (kg/m3) (kg/m3
)
Calcium Chloride 28 200 1.25 2.13 0.626 0.45 1680 1500 54
hexahydrate 29 187 1.4 2.20 1.09 0.53 1710 1530 33
29 190.8 - - 1.088 0.540 1802 1562 29
CaCl2·6H2O 29.7-29.85 187.49 1.46 2.13 1.088 0.539 1710 - 51

29.7 169.98 1.46 2.13 - - 1560 - 68

29.7 171 1.45 - - - 1710 1496 28
29.7-29.85 187.49 1.46 2.13 1.088 0.538 1710 - 52
LiNO3·3H2O 30.05 296 - - - - - - 42
CaBr2·6H2O 30.05 115.5 - - - - - - 42
32 251 1.92 3.26 0.514 - 1460 1330 47,
44
32 251 1.92 3.26 0.514 0.589 1460 1330 48
32 251 1.92 3.26 0.514 0.588 1460 - 50
Sodium sulfate
32 251 1.92 3.26 0.51 - 1440 1360 45
decahydrate
32.4 254 1.93 - 0.544 - 1485 - 28
Na2SO4·10H2O 32.4 254 1.76 3.31 - - 1458 - 68
32.45 254 - - - - - - 42
39-39.15 180 2 2 0.15 0.3 1460 - 51;
52
KFe (SO4)2·12H2O 33 173 - - - - - - 30

CaBr2·6H2O 34 115.5 - - - - 1956 2194 43

18
 34 138 - - - - - - 30

LiBr2·2H2O 34 124 - - - - - - 30

Na2CO3·10H2O 34.05 146.9 - - - - - - 42

Disodium 35, 35.2, 265, - - - - 1522 - 43

hydrogen 35.5, 36 280, 281
phosphate
35 281 1.70 1.95 0.514 0.476 1520 1442 28
dodecahydrate

Na2HPO4·12H2O 35 278.84 1.55 2.51 - - 1522 - 68

35.55 265 - - - - - - 42

36.11 279 1.68 1.93 2.93 0.589 1520 1519 48

36.11 279 1.68 1.93 2.93 0.589 1520 - 50

40 279 - - - - - - 30

Zinc nitrate 36, 36.4 146.9, - - - 0.464, 2065, 1828 43

hexahydrate 147 0.469 1937
36.05 246.5 - - - - - - 42
Zn(NO3)2·6H2O 36.1 146.95 1.34 2.26 - - 1954 - 68
36.4 147 1.34 2.26 - - 2065 - 28
FeCl3·6H2O 37 223 - - - - - - 30
Mn(NO3)2·4H2O 37.1 115 - - - - - - 30
CoSO4·7H2O 40.7 170 - - - - - - 30

19
K2HPO4·7H2O 45 145 - - - - - - 30
MgNO3·4H2O 47 142 - - - - - - 30
CaNO3·4H2O 47 153 - - - - - - 30
Fe(NO3)3·9H2O 47 155 - - - - - - 30
Na2SiO3·4H2O 48 168 - - - - - - 30
Sodium 48 201 1.46 2.39 - - 1730 1670 28
thiosulphatepenta 48.05 201 - - - - - - 42
hydrate 48.5 210 - - - - - - 30
48.5 208.80 1.46 2.38 - - 1666 - 68
Na2S2O3·5H2O
MgSO4·7H2O 48.5 202 - - - - - - 30
Ca(NO3)2·3H2O 51 104 - - - - - - 30
Ni(NO3)2·6H2O 57 169 - - - - - - 30
Sodium acetate 58 264.18 1.7 2.9 - - - - 35,3
trihydrate 6

NaC2H3O2·3H2O
MnCl2·4H2O 58 151 - - - - - - 30
MgCl2·4H2O 58 178 - - - - - - 30
Na(CH3COO) · 58.05 264 - - - - - - 42
3H2O
Fe(NO3)2·6H2O 60.5 126 - - - - - - 30
NaAl(SO4)2· 61 181 - - - - - - 30
10H2O
NaOH 64.3 227.6 - - - - 1690 - 43
NaOH·H2O 64.3 273 - - - - - - 30
Na3PO4·12H2O 65 190 - - - - - - 30
LiCH3COO·2H2O 70 150 - - - - - - 30

20
 3.3. Eutectic Phase Change Material

The eutectic PCM consist of two or more components such as a mixture of either inorganic-inorganic, organic-
inorganic or organic-organic materials. Each of these component may solidify congruently or incongruently during
the crystallization process. The following table (table 4) gives the promising Eutectic PCM’s for thermal
management.

21
 TABLE 4 – EUTECTIC PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS
Substance Tm (oC) ΔH Cps Cpl ks kl ρs ρl Ref.
(kJ/kg) (kJ/kgK) (kJ/kgK) (W/mK) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
(W/mK)

Na(CH3COO)·3H2O + 30, 200.5, - - - - - - 43

CO(NH2)2 31.5 226

(60:40) 30.05 136 - - - - - - 42

Ca(NO3)·4H2O + 30 136 - - - - - - 30
Mg(NO3)3·6H2O
(47:53)

CH3COONa·3H2O + 30 200.5 - - - - - - 30
NH2CONH2

(40:60)

Lauric acid + palmitic 30.6- 173.8 - - - - - - 69

acid (60:39) 41.1

Lauric acid + palmitic 31.5- 172.5 - - - - - - 69

acid(63:37) 39.6

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.13 190.8 - - - - - - 70

acid (19.96:80.04)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.2- 171.4 - - - - - - 69

acid (64:36) 37.8

22
Lauric acid + palmitic 32.25 163.3 - - - - - - 70
acid (30.18: 69.82)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.27 195.1 - - - - - - 70

acid (9.58:90.42)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.35 175.7 - - - - - - 70

acid (56.59:43.41)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.37 161 - - - - - - 70

acid (50.02: 49.98)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.44 168.9 - - - - - - 70

acid (60.88:39.12)

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.48 159.5 - - - - - - 70

acid (40.3:59.70)

Lauric acid + myristic 32.6 156 - - - - - - 71;

acid (62.6:37.4)
72

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.7- 175.2 - - - - - - 69

acid (55:45) 43.2

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.8- 170.2 - - - - - - 69

acid (65:35) 37.1

Lauric acid + palmitic 32.8 165 - - - - - - 71;

acid (64:36)
72

Lauric acid + palmitic 33.08 153.8 - - - - - - 70

acid (71.55:28.45)

23
Lauric acid + palmitic 33.09 150.6 - - - - - - 70
acid (77.05:22.95)

Lauric acid + palmitic 33.4- 169.2 - - - - - - 69

acid (66:34) 36.5

Lauric acid + palmitic 33.54 148.3 - - - - - - 70

acid (89.92 :10.08)

Lauric acid + palmitic 33.55 146.5 - - - - - - 70

acid (80.59 :19.41)

Lauric acid + palmitic 34.1- 168.4 - - - - - - 69

acid (67:33) 36.1

Lauric acid + palmitic 34.7- 167.7 - - - - - - 69

acid (68:32) 35.5

Lauric acid + palmitic 35.2 166.3 - - - - - - 69

acid (69:31)

Lauric acid + palmitic 36.0- 165.6 - - - - - - 69

acid (70:30) 37.3

Lauric acid + palmitic 36.9- 166.2 - - - - - - 69

acid (71:29) 38.9

Lauric acid +stearic 37.3 171 - - - - - - 71;7

acid (75.5:24.5) 2

Myristic acid + 39.8 174 - - - - - - 71;7

palmitic acid (51:49) 2

Lauric acid + palmitic 40.2- 170.7 - - - - - - 69

24
acid (85:15) 49.8

Myristic acid + stearic 44 181 - - - - - - 71;7

acid (65.7:34.3) 2

Myristic acid + stearic 44.13 182.4 - - - - - - 73

acid (64:36)

Paraffin + palmitic 48-52 150 - - - - 902 796 74

acid (80:20)

Palmitic acid+ stearic 48.8– 187.2 - - - - - - 75

acid (50:50) 55.9

Paraffin + stearic acid 49–53 150 - - - - 913 803 74

(80:20)

Propionamide + 50 192 1.96 2.40 - - - - 28

Palmitic acid (25.1:
74.9)

Palmitic acid+ stearic 50.4 179 - - - - - - 71;7

acid (64.9:35.1) 2

Palmitic acid+ stearic 50.4– 185.4 - - - - - - 75

acid (55:45) 55.6

Palmitic acid+ stearic 51.2– 183.7 - - - - - - 75

acid (60:40) 54.2

Palmitic acid+ stearic 51.8– 182.9 - - - - - - 75

acid (62:38) 53.5

52 125.5 - - - - - - 30

25
Mg(NO3)2·6H2O + 52 125.5 - - 0.552 0.494, 1596 1515 43
NH4NO3 (61.5:38.5) 0.515

Palmitic acid+ stearic 52.1– 182.3 - - - - - - 75

acid (63.5:36.5) 52.8

Palmitic acid+ stearic 52.3 181.7 2.02 2.27 - - - - 75

acid (64.2:35.8)

Palmitic acid+ stearic 52.5– 181.4 - - - - - - 75

acid (64.9:35.1) 51.7

Palmitic acid+ stearic 52.8– 181.1 - - - - - - 75

acid (65.6:34.4) 51.1

Palmitic acid+ stearic 53.2– 180.9 - - - - - - 75

acid (66.3:33.7) 50.4

Palmitic acid+ stearic 53.9– 180.1 - - - - - - 75

acid (69:31) 49.6

Palmitic acid+ stearic 55.1– 181.6 - - - - - - 75

acid (74:26) 48.7

Palmitic acid+ stearic 55.9– 182.4 - - - - - - 75

acid (79:21) 47.4

Palmitic acid+ stearic 56.7– 183.1 - - - - - - 75

acid (85:15) 45.9

Palmitic acid+ stearic 57.4– 184.7 - - - - - - 75

acid (90:10) 44.6

Mg(NO3)2·6H2O + 59.1 144 1.34 3.16 - - - - 28

26
MgCl2·6 H2O (53:47)

Mg(NO3)2·6H2O + 59.1 144 - - - - - - 30

MgCl2·6 H2O (50:50)

Mg(NO3)2·6 H2O 59.05 132.2 - - - - - - 42

+MgCl2·6 H2O
(58.7:41.3) 59 132.2 - - - - - - 30

Mg(NO3)2·6H2O + 61 148 - - - - - - 43;

Al(NO3)2 ·9H2O 28;
(53:47) 30

Stearic acid + myristic 61-65 190.87 - - - - 944 873 74

acid (80:20)

CH3CONH2 + 65 218 - - - - - - 30
C17H35COOH (50: 50)

Mg(NO3)2·6 H2O + 66 168 - - - - - - 30

MgBr2·6 H2O (59:41)

Napthalene + benzoic 67 123.4 - - - - - - 30

acid (67.1: 32.9)

Mg(NO3)2·6 H2O + 69-78.2 152.1- - - - - - - 76

MgCl2·6 H2O (93:7) 154.5

(Pure reagent)

27
 4. Solid- Solid Phase Change Materials
These PCM change their crystalline structure while going through the solid – solid Phase
transition .The various advantages offered by Solid-Solid PCMs are no super -cooling and phase separation
problem, no leakage because volume change during phase change is very low or negligible, they change their
phase at fixed temperature and visible change and they are easily available.

No conclusive experimental work has been done on thermal management using

Solid-Solid Phase change material. Wang et al [37] used expended graphite infused with Neo-Pentyl glycol in an
attempt to increase its thermal conductivity for application in latent heat storage devices. Results concluded that
the conductivity could be enhanced by 11-88 times the original value. Also the increase in mass of graphite
caused a reduction in latent heat of the resultant system. Alkan et al[38] produced various types of poly
Urethanes by condensation reaction Poly Ethylene Glycol(PEG). The results showed that the resulting condensate
had Solid-Solid Phase transition temperature from 20-600C and enthalpy of approximately 179kJ/Kg. The samples
were heated well above their transition temperatures and visually observed for any visible phase changes.

Xi et al[39] experimented with a two-step procedure for preparing polymeric

based Solid-Solid PCM. The new material was subjected to DSC, WAXD and POM. The results indicated that the
phase change occurring is Solid-Solid and the material offer excellent crystalline and phase change properties.
They concluded that it had great potential in being used for thermal control and storage. Cheng et al [40]
synthesized 3 different type of SSPCM with PEG as its phase change functional chain and sorbitol,
dipentaerythritol and inositol were respectively added as the molecular skeleton. These materials showed high
latent heat capacity and phase transition temperatures between 30&700 centigrade. According to the heating-

28
cooling cycle test conducted, the synthesized materials showed excellent reliability and negligible degradation of
its property.

The Various materials used in the above mentioned experiments are tabulated in table 5
according to their Transition temperature.

TABLE 5 – SOLID-SOLID PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS

Substance Tm ΔH Cps ks ρs Ref.
(oC) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kgK) (W/mK) (kg/m3) prop
erties
NPG/CENG 50 116 - .43 - 37
Hydroxyl 33-73 40-63 - - - 40
Compound
Polystyrene 55-58 116- - - - 39
grafted - PEG 174
PVA-G-C180H 47-55 107 77

5. CONCLUSION
A review on PCM for thermal management has been done. we concluded that solid –liquid and solid –
solid phase change materials are two options for cooling electronic devices efficiently. The studies
conducted till now show that Solid Liquid PCM can be effectively used as a thermal management material.
The major problems associated with SL- PCM are problems like super-cooling, phase segregation, leakage
and high volume change during transition etc. These problems can be overcome by using Solid -Solid PCM.
SSPCM have been researched for thermal energy storage and proved to be promising because of its high

29
latent heat and suitable transition temperature. The major advantages offered by SSPCM are negligible
volume expansion during phase transition and no leakage. But very less work have been done on SSPCM
has a thermal management material for electronic cooling. Future research can involve experimentation
using Solid-Solid PCM.

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