Experimental studies on the use of a phase change material for cooling mobile phones

This paper is to examine the cooling of mobile phones using a phase change material (PCM). Experimental prototypes of mobile phones were fabricated using aluminum heat sinks with different numbers of fins filled with n-eicosane. The devices were subjected to steady-state and transient charging and discharging at different power settings. It was found that increasing the power increased the PCM melting rate. The internal fins also helped to lower the maximum device temperature. These findings indicated that the use of PCM-based heat sinks were effective for the cooling of mobile phones under intermittent moderate usage conditions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.