a recent article from electronics cooling magazine explained a novel approach to building a thermal capacitor to mitigate temperature fluctuations by absorbing and releasing thermal energy, which could save on size, weight, and cost over the design cycle.

a novel method for builiding a thermal capacitor was created. (wikimedia commons)

the article was written by dr. naveenan thiagarajan, a lead researcher with ge global research in new york, who focuses on thermal management technologies for aviation, healthcare, and transportation systems.

dr. thiagarajan wrote, “a key technique in the thermal domain that closely resembles an electrical capacitor is thermal energy storage (tes). tes uses a phase change material (pcm), which upon absorption of heat from the system undergoes a solid-to-solid, solid-to-liquid, or liquid-to-gas phase transformation.”

he continued, “adequately designed tes systems could, by delaying temperature rise, play an important role in providing additional time for the reliable operation of avionics without compromising functionality. in the absence of tes systems, typical strategies involve downclocking the computational systems to reduce temperature rise at the cost of reduced system capability.”

the article outlined the creation of a 3u tes card that was used in a line replaceable unit (lru) avionics chassis that incorporated heat pipes to distribute heat to aluminum fins. dr. thiagarajan noted that the design of this particular tes, while originally for avionics, could be applicable to other industries.

after explaining the experimental and analytical data that was derived from the tes, dr. thiagarajan concluded, “an effective thermal capacitor is developed that minimizes conduction length through the pcm by more than 50 times and maximizes surface area by the use of a finned heat pipe structure embedded in the pcm. the structure can be engineered to yield desired temperature rise and porosity specifications for most applications with conventional manufacturing techniques.”

read the full article at https://www.electronics-cooling.com/2017/02/novel-approach-development-thermal-capacitor.