Enhanced electronic cooling with optimized metal foam/PCM composite heat sinks: A numerical study

The current study numerically investigates the thermal performance and optimization of metal foam (MF) heat sinks for electronic cooling applications. Key design parameters include different types of phase change material (PCM) (RT31, RT42, RT55), MF porosity (0.1–95 %), MF material (aluminum, copper, stainless steel), MF permeability (10 –8 –10 –12 ), and heat flux levels (1000–8000 W/m 2 ). The simulations, conducted using ANSYS Fluent, optimize a plate-fin heat sink based on a critical temperature of 80 °C while incorporating the Boussinesq approximation for buoyancy effects. Results suggest that high-porosity metal foam enhances heat dissipation by increasing the effective thermal conductivity of the PCM-metal foam system, which accelerates PCM melting and solidification, reduces base-surface temperature, and improves overall thermal management. RT55’s higher melting point extends solid-state heat absorption by 23.5 min versus RT31 and 16.3 min versus RT42 for aluminum foam with 95 % porosity at 2000 W/m 2 . The effects of permeability and gravity are negligible in the presence of metal foam. The optimal configuration is RT55 infused with 95 % porous copper foam, maximizing thermal energy storage. Additionally, higher porosity increases melting time due to the larger PCM volume, while PCM selection significantly impacts thermal efficiency. Heat sink size also influences foam material effectiveness, affecting heat transfer and fluid flow dynamics.