Application of phase change materials for low duty cycle high peak load power supplies

A power electronic device's lifetime depends on its maximum operating temperature and the temperature swings it is subjected to. Heat sinks employing phase change materials (PCMs) can be employed to achieve a temperature reduction, but only for a limited duration. This makes such heat sinks appropriate for use in applications with high peak loads but with low duty cycles. The heat sink is modelled using the thermal RC network approach, and an optimization procedure for designing a hybrid air-cooled heat sink containing PCM is developed, yielding a maximum possible temperature reduction for a given application.