Characterization of phase change material systems with a thermal test device

This work presents a thermal characterization approach for phase change materials thermal management systems (PCM-TMS) based on a thermal test device (TTD) allowing simultaneous dissipation and chip temperature measurement. The tests are oriented towards PCM-TMS characterization for their application in the power electronics domain, providing direct “junction temperature” measurements and an insight into the physical phenomena involved in PCM systems. The PCM-TMS used in this work consists in a 35 mm diameter and 9.5 mm height Cu case, containing a 20 ppi porous Cu mesh and a 31°C melting temperature paraffin. It has been demonstrated that the proposed characterization methodology is suitable for the assessment of this kind of non-linear systems, allowing an easy acquisition of both, heating and cooling transients.