Title: Thermal designs for mobile phones cooled with use of phase change material and heat pipe

Authors: Govindan Radhakrishnan Kumaresh; Fei Duan; Fock-Lai Tan; Chih-Ping Tso

Addresses: Lloyd's Register Global Technology Center, 1 Fusionopolis Way, #17-14, Connexis (North Tower), 138632, Singapore ' School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore ' School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore ' School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore

Abstract: The thermal design on a mobile phone cooling is investigated numerically, using n-eicosane as the Phase Change Material (PCM) stored inside a Heat Storage Unit (HSU). A heat pipe is used inside the phone to transfer heat from various internal heat sources of the phone to the HSU. The chip and casing temperatures of the phone are kept below allowable temperatures through heat absorption by the PCM in the HSU until it is completely melted. Seven different design models of HSU with different fin configurations and different amount of PCM are being investigated. Four different usage conditions are simulated based upon call duration and time interval between calls. Simulation results show an increase in power level reduces the handling time. The light users can use the mobile phone for a longer duration. However, under heavy usage, the PCM gets completely melted much earlier and the handling time is reduced.

Keywords: thermal design; mobile phones; cell phones; phase change materials; heat storage unit; heat pipes; numerical simulation; phone cooling; heat transfer; heat absorption; chip temperature; casing temperature.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2013.058450

International Journal of Product Development, 2013 Vol.18 No.5, pp.411 - 432

Received: 27 Mar 2012
Accepted: 06 Jul 2013
Published online: 30 Sep 2014 *

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