Optimization of PCM based thermal management device for power electronics using an effective thermal conductivity model for architected enhancers

International audience; Phase Change Material (PCM) have been widely used for thermal energy storage due to their high latent heat of fusion. Several types of PCM are available and can be selected to meet the required melting temperature and latent heat value. However their low thermal conductivity drastically reduces their performances. Without thermal conductivity enhancement, melting would mainly occur at the interface between the heated surface and the PCM, and would slowly spread in the bulk of the PCM. In that sens the use of fillers is necessary. We present here a study on the use of metallic lattice structure as PCM enhancers. In this paper we illustrate the use of a Effective Thermal Conductivity (ETC) model for four different lattice structures to optimize a PCM based device for the thermal management of power electronics. The optimization is done in terms of device overall dimensions (especially its height) but also in term of composite (or enhanced PCM) enclosure. Actually the composite needs to be enclosed to avoid leaking but the enclosure also serves a heat spreading role which is studied here.