Development of 30 Watt high-power LEDs vapor chamber-based plate

This study utilizes experimental analysis with window program VCTM V1.0 to investigate the thermal performance of the vapor chamber and apply to 30 Watt high-power LEDs. The thermal experiment method is derived a novel empirical formula for the effective thermal conductivity of the vapor chamber and calculated its thermal performance. Results show that the maximum effective thermal conductivity is 870 W/m °C from the novel empirical formula, and comparing it with the experimental value, the calculating error is no more than ±5%. And the LED vapor chamber-based plate works out hot-spot problem of 30 Watt high-power LEDs, successfully.     

Review on solar water heater collector and thermal energy performance of circulating pipe

The effect of thermal conductivity of the absorber plate of a solar collector on the performance of a thermo-siphon solar water heater is found by using the alternative simulation system. The system is assumed to be supplied of hot water at 50 °C and 80 °C whereas both are used in domestic and industrial purposes, respectively. According to the Rand distribution profile 50, 125 and 250 l of hot water are consumed daily. The condition shows that the annual solar fraction of the planning functions and the collector's configuration factors are strongly dependent on the thermal conductivity for its lower values. The less dependence is observed beyond a thermal conductivity of 50 W/m °C for the solar improper fraction and above 100 W/m °C for the configuration factors. In addition, the number of air ducts and total mass flow rate are taken to show that higher collector efficiency is obtained under the suitable designing and operating parameters. Different heat transfer mechanisms, adding natural convection, vapor boiling, cell nucleus boiling and film wise condensation is observed in the thermo-siphon solar water heater with various solar radiations. From this study, it is found that the solar water heater with a siphon system achieves system characteristic efficiency of 18% higher than that of the conventional system by reducing heat loss for the thermo-siphon solar water heater.     

Thermoelectric transformation and illuminative performance analysis of a novel LED-MGVC device

Energy-efficient, small and lightweight high-power light-emitting diodes (Hi-LEDs) are combined with a thermo-generation module (TGM) to transform the heat power generated by the LED into electric energy in the present paper. Variation in the dielectric copper and solder layer thickness in the printed circuit board (PCB) composite was found to affect the thermal performance of the Hi-LEDs lighting system, and a vapor chamber (VC) was shown to provide excellent heat dissipation performance when used with Hi-LEDs. Therefore, VC and PCB (VCPCB) were combined for integration with the Hi-LEDs package system (micro-generator with LED vapor chamber-based plate, LED-MGVC) for performance and illumination comparison. This study analyzes the performance of a novel LED-MGVC device using experimental and illumination-analysis methods with VCTM V1.0. Results depict that the LED-MGVC system provides significant improvement for thermal performance and illumination and thermoelectric properties.     

Superposition method to investigate the thermal performance of heat sink with embedded heat pipes

This article utilizes the thermal performance experiment with superposition method to investigate the thermal performance of heat sinks with one and two pairs of embedded heat pipes. A heat sink with embedded heat pipes transfers the total heat capacity from the heat source to both the base plate and heat pipes, and then disperses heat into the surrounding air via the forced convection. The heat capacity carried by embedded heat pipes can be found using the thermal resistance analytical approach stated in this article. The results show that two and four heat pipes embedded in the base plate carry 36% and 48% of the total dissipated heat respectively; in addition, when the total heating power of the heat sink with two embedded heat pipes is 140 W, the total thermal resistance reaches its minimum value of 0.27 °C/W, while for the heat sink with four embedded heat pipes, when the total heating power is between 40 W and 240 W, the total thermal resistance is 0.24 °C/W, meaning that the thermal performance is better than that of heat sink with two embedded heat pipes.     

3-D numerical and experimental models for flat and embedded heat pipes applied in high-end VGA card cooling system

The present study utilizes the three-dimension numerical and experimental methods to investigate the optimum thermal performance of a flat heat pipe-thermal module application in high-end VGA card cooling system, and compares that with a traditional copper metal based plate embedded three 6 mm diameter heat pipe-thermal module under three dissimilar inclination angles of 0°, 90° and 180°. The optimization for the thermal modules researches into various fin material, thickness and gap. Results show that the flat heat pipe-thermal module has the best thermal performance at high power GPU of 180 W and inclination angle of 180°. Simulation results show in good agreement with experimental results within 5%. Therefore, the thermal performance of a flat heat pipe-thermal module can be accurately simulated and analyzed by employed the manner introduced in this paper and is able to cope with the higher heat flux GPU over 62.5 W/cm² in the future.     

Enhanced heat transfer by room temperature deposition of AlN film on aluminum for a light emitting diode package

Heat transfer is crucial to the fabrication of high efficiency light emitting diode (LED) packages. The effectiveness of the heat transfer depends on the package materials and design. This paper presents an application of high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride (AlN) films to replace low thermal conductivity epoxy resin or alumina substrates. The AlN film was directly deposited on an aluminum plate which enabled the removal of thermal interface materials (TIM) such as the adhesive thermal bonding sheets that are used in conventional metal printed circuit board (PCB)-based LED packaging process. A fully dense AlN ceramic film was successfully deposited at room temperature using the aerosol deposition method. The thermal resistance, a parameter of the heat transfer characteristic of an LED package, was measured using a thermal transient tester. The results showed that the thermal resistance of the LED package mounted on the AlN thick film was 28.5 K/W, while an LED package mounted on a conventional epoxy-based metal PCB and a PCB with thermal vias were 47.2 K/W and 36.5 K/W, respectively. This indicates that an aerosol-deposited AlN-based LED package exhibits greatly enhanced heat transfer compared to the conventional metal PCB.     

The improved performance of one-side actuating diaphragm micropump for a liquid cooling system

In our previous study, a new type of a one-side actuating diaphragm micropump was developed to drain water using diaphragm vibration at the rate of 1.2 ml/s [H.K. Ma, B.R. Hou, H.Y. Wu, C.Y. Lin, J.J. Gao, Development and application of a diaphragm micropump with piezoelectric device, Accepted by Microsystem Technologies (2007)]. This study indicates that the performance of the micropump is strongly affected by the design of the check valves and the pump chambers, input voltage, and frequency. The improved design shows that the maximum flow rate is 2.35 ml/s, and the maximum pump head is 6404 Pa under ± 50 V. In addition, the thermal resistances of the cold plate on a 30 W dummy heater in the open system and the circulation liquid cooling system are 0.27 °C/W and 0.45 °C/W, respectively, in laptop application.     

Through-plane thermal conductivity of the microporous layer in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Understanding the thermal properties of the microporous layer (MPL) is critical for accurate thermal analysis and improving the performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells operating at high current densities. In this study, the effective through-plane thermal conductivity and contact resistance of the MPL have been investigated. Gas diffusion layer (GDL) samples, coated with 5%-wt. PTFE, with and without an MPL are measured using the guarded steady-state heat flow technique described in the ASTM standard E 1225-04. Thermal contact resistance of the MPL with the iron clamping surface was found to be negligible, owing to the high surface contact area. Effective thermal conductivity and thickness of the MPL remained constant for compression pressures up to 15 bar at 0.30 W/m°K and 55 μm, respectively. The effective thermal conductivity of the GDL substrate containing 5%-wt. PTFE varied from 0.30 to 0.56 W/m°K as compression was increased from 4 to 15 bar. As a result, GDL containing MPL had a lower effective thermal conductivity at high compression than the GDL without MPL. At low compression, differences were negligible. The constant thickness of the MPL suggests that the porosity, as well as heat and mass transport properties, remain independent of the inhomogeneous compression by the bipolar plate. Despite the low effective thermal conductivity of the MPL, thermal performance of the GDL can be improved by exploiting the excellent surface contact resistance of the MPL.     

A study of an LED backlight thermal module

The present study uses a heat sink plate to conduct natural convection in order to examine different areas of the heat sink and the effects of mounting different quantities of LEDs on the same surface on the thermal mechanism performance. Based on the experimental results, when a heat sink plate is arranged vertically, the channel flow between the fins is parallel to gravity. The LED substrate plate temperature is different from that at the end of the fin, and rises with the increase of total power. The thermal resistance rises slowly and then declines with the increase of LED electric power. As for temperature change of the LED substrate and at the end of the fin, when the temperature difference is increased, it also increases the natural convection thrust. For thermal resistance, the environmental thermal resistance at the bottom of the heat sink plate is lower than at the middle and top sections. These LED power emissions will be changed synchronously. Regarding the LED quantity control, the rate of increase is the highest for the heat sink plate with 30 pcs LED, and the temperature is very high for the heat sink plate with 45 and 60 pcs LEDs when the power approaches 1 W. Moreover, the rising rate is the lowest for the heat sink plate with 60 pcs LEDs. Depending on the brightness requirement, the illuminant is provided by 60 pcs LEDs to obtain a lower temperature so that the system can reduce the thermal protective design. Evidence shows that a high conductivity heat pipe embedded in the channel can provide a more uniform temperature distribution. The present study provides a further understanding on the influence of different illuminant densities on the heat sink structure and the temperature difference in an LED heat transfer device, in order to provide a reference for heat sink design of a backlight module and LED illuminant module evaluation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20321     

Experimental investigation of a flat plate heat pipe performance using IR thermal imaging camera

This paper presents results and analysis of an experimental investigation into determining the thermal performance of a flat plate heat pipe using infra red (IR) thermal imaging camera. Steady state and transient temperature distribution of the evaporator surface of the flat plate heat pipe were measured using a single heat source with varied heat flux inputs. For performance comparison, the experimental measurements were also carried out on an identical flat plate heat pipe with a defect and on a solid copper block of similar dimensions. It was shown that temperature excursion on the surface of the fully functioning flat plate heat pipe is less than 3 °C for operating temperatures up to 90 °C and heat flux inputs ranging from 4 to 40 W/cm². Furthermore, the thermal spreading resistance of the flat plate heat pipe was found to be about 40 times smaller than that of the solid copper block and flat plate heat pipe with a defect.     

Suppression of Li deposition on surface of graphite using carbon coating by thermal vapor deposition process

10 wt.% carbon-coated natural graphite (NC-10) is prepared by thermal vapor deposition. The carbon coating is electrochemically investigated at −5 °C; it improves lithium intercalation in the graphite's interlayer spacing. NC-10 graphite clearly shows 3 voltage plateaus and a higher capacity during the first charge/discharge cycle at −5 °C than uncoated natural graphite. XRD study of the electrode after the first charging shows increased lithium intercalation into the graphite layers and also suppression of lithium deposition on the graphite's surface. Due to the homogeneous potential profile on the graphite surface, carbon coating enhance lithium intercalation at −5 °C. In addition, NC-10 shows less lithium deposition on the surface than bare natural graphite.     

Evaluation of phase change materials for thermal regulation enhancement of building integrated photovoltaics

Regulating the temperature of building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) using phase change materials (PCMs) reduces the loss of temperature dependent photovoltaic (PV) efficiency. Five PCMs were selected for evaluation all with melting temperatures ∼25 ± 4 °C and heat of fusion between 140 and 213 kJ/kg. Experiments were conducted at three insolation intensities to evaluate the performance of each PCM in four different PV/PCM systems. The effect on thermal regulation of PV was determined by changing the (i) mass of PCM and (ii) thermal conductivities of the PCM and PV/PCM system. A maximum temperature reduction of 18 °C was achieved for 30 min while 10 °C temperature reduction was maintained for 5 h at −1000 W/m² insolation.     

Thermal performance of high brightness LED array package on PCB

This paper presents a thermal analysis and experimental validation of natural convective air cooling of a high brightness 3 × 3 LED array package on a printed circuit board (PCB) during operation from 0 to 180° inclinations. Temperature distribution and heat flow of the LED package are assessed by thermal profile measurement using an IR camera and thermocouples. In addition, a design study on the thermal performance of the packaging structure is also performed. The analysis results reveal that the effect of position and inclination plays an important role in the heat dissipation of the LED package. The heat transfer process of the LED PCB package in natural convection is also modelled and simulated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method. The proposed thermal analytical study provides a detailed understanding of the thermal response of an open or enclosed LED array PCB unit under various operating conditions. The results provide criteria for setting up a LED array system and for adopting design features that would be beneficial to effective thermal management.     

Performance evaluation of low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal systems: A case study from Sweden

Some of the main bottlenecks for the development and commercialization of photovoltaic/thermal hybrids are the lack of an internationally recognized standard testing procedure as well as a method to compare different hybrids with each other and with conventional alternatives. A complete methodology to characterize, simulate and evaluate concentrating photovoltaic/thermal hybrids has been proposed and exemplified in a particular case study. By using the suggested testing method, the hybrid parameters were experimentally determined. These were used in a validated simulation model that estimates the hybrid outputs in different geographic locations. Furthermore, the method includes a comparison of the hybrid performance with conventional collectors and photovoltaic modules working side-by-side. The measurements show that the hybrid electrical efficiency is 6.4% while the optical efficiency is 0.45 and the U-value 1.9 W/m² °C. These values are poor when compared with the parameters of standard PV modules and flat plate collectors. Also, the beam irradiation incident on a north-south axis tracking surface is 20-40% lower than the global irradiation incident on a fixed surface at optimal tilt. There is margin of improvement for the studied hybrid but this combination makes it difficult for concentrating hybrids to compete with conventional PV modules and flat plate collectors.     

Electrochemical hydrogen pumping from high temperature plasma-chemical reactor involving H2O/SO2 gas mixture

We demonstrate that the energy efficiency of hydrogen production by electrochemical hydrogen pumping out of a plasma-energized mixture of water vapor and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) can be greatly enhanced by raising the rector temperature above 800 °C. The critical elements for this reactor design include the use of a microporous ceramic configuration for the discharge region, a bipolar electrode connecting the plasma reactor with the hydrogen pump, and a solid oxide membrane as the electrolyte of the pump. The amount of hydrogen produced per 100 joules of electrical energy consumed to operate the reactor at 850 °C is 16 mL, which is more than twice the volume produced from the same reactor, operating at 100 °C. The energy efficiency is almost 75% of that for the electrolysis of an H₂O/SO₂ mixture. This type of plasma-assisted hydrogen pump opens up the possibility of producing hydrogen gas from water using the thermal energy from a nuclear reactor.     

Thermal performance of flat vapor chamber heat spreader

Experiments were performed to examine the spreading thermal resistance of centrally positioned heat sources and the thermal performance of a water charged, gravity assisted flat vapor chamber to be used for electronic cooling. Parametric studies including different heat fluxes and operating temperatures were conducted, and the effect of the relevant parameters on the cooling performance in terms of the spreading resistance was presented and discussed. The present vapor chamber heat spreader showed a heat removal capacity of 220 W/cm² with a thermal spreading resistance of 0.2 °C/W.     

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Microjet-Based Cooling System for High Power LEDs

The optical extraction efficiency and reliability of light emitting diodes (LEDs) relies heavily on successful thermal management due to their inherit dependence on the low junction temperature of LED chips. In this paper, a microjet-based cooling system is proposed for the thermal management of high power LEDs. Experimental and numerical investigations on such an active cooling system were conducted. Thermocouples were packaged with LED chips to conduct an online measurement of the temperature and evaluate the cooling performance of the proposed system. The experimental results demonstrate that the microjet-based cooling system has good cooling performance. For a 2 × 2 LED chip array, when the input power is 5.6 W and the environmental temperature is 28°C, the temperature of the 2 × 2 LED chip array reaches 72°C within 2 minutes and continues to increase sharply if no active cooling technique is applied. By using the proposed cooling system to cool the LEDs, however, the maximum LED temperature measured by thermocouples will remain stable at about 36.7°C, when the flow rate of the micropump is 9.7 mL/s. With consideration of the experimental difficulty, a numerical investigation was conducted on flow and temperature distribution in the microjet device. The feasibility of the numerical model was proven by comparison with experimental results. The numerical results showed that at a flow rate of 3.2 mL/s, the heat transfer coefficient of the impinging jets in the proposed system was about 5523 W/m²·K, and the pressure drop in the microjet device was about 1368 Pa.     

Experimental Study on Thermosyphon for Shipboard High-Power Electronics Cooling System

The closed-loop thermosyphon (CLT) has advantages of simple structure and reliability for transporting heat in long distances with small decrease in temperature. It is considered a promising cooling device for power electronics onboard ships. In this research, CLT for cooling of power electronics onboard ship was developed, and the performance was experimentally examined using a CLT apparatus. The performance was investigated for steady-state heat transfer under a wide range of pressures and heat loads from 18.3 kPa to 35.3 kPa and from 88.9 W to 616.2 W, respectively. The fill charge rates were 27% and 45%. The circulation coolant temperature at the condenser was set to 15°C. The measured data for each rated heat input were registered by a data logger in every 5-s increment of sampling data for a 30-min period. During the steady-state operation, CLT could maintain the system pressure and produced the vapor bulk temperature at around saturation boiling regime. The temperature distributions of the system were measured from each probed thermocouple along the loop. It is understood that higher heat inputs around above 349 W could keep the bulk vapor in an almost constant temperature from evaporation process up to the inlet position of the condenser. The condenser of the direct hull cooling method could also maintain the condensation process with a temperature decrease of around 30°C from the inlet vapor temperature of the condenser. It was clarified that the CLT has good thermal performance in the higher heat loads with low thermal resistance and provides a steady circulation loop from each two-phase process of heating in the evaporator and cooling during condensation.     

Phase separated thermotropic layers based on UV cured acrylate resins - Effect of material formulation on overheating protection properties and application in a solar collector

This paper focuses on the effect of material composition on the overheating protection properties of thermotropic systems with fixed domains for solar thermal collectors. Numerous functional layers were prepared by a variation of base resin (polyester-, epoxy- or urethane-acrylate) and of thermotropic additives (non-polar and polar waxes) as well as by additive concentration (5 and 7 wt%). A detailed investigation of optical properties, switching temperature and switching process was performed applying UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy. Thermal transitions of both the thermotropic layers and the additives used were determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The capability of the produced thermotropic layers to reduce stagnation temperatures in an all-polymeric flat plate collector was evaluated by theoretical modeling. The thermotropic layers showed a hemispheric solar transmittance between 76% and 87% in clear state. Above the switching threshold this transmittance changed by 1-16% to values between 62% and 85%. The layers exhibited switching temperatures between 33 and 80 °C. The transition is fully completed within a temperature frame of 10-25 °C. Resin types with higher glass transition temperatures were detected to benefit the reduction of the hemispheric solar transmittance above the switching threshold. This reduction was also found to increase with increasing molecular weight of the non-polar additive types. The comparison of the switching performance with the thermal transitions of the additives revealed a good correlation. Theoretical modeling showed that by the use of selected thermotropic layers in the glazing the maximum absorber temperatures can be limited to temperatures below 130 °C.     

The effect of using transverse fins on a double pass flow solar air heater using wire mesh as an absorber

The thermal performance of a double pass solar air heater with 2, 4, and 6 fins attached was investigated experimentally. Wire mesh layers were used between the fins instead of an absorber plate. The effects of mass flow rate of air on the outlet temperature and thermal efficiency were studied. The indicated results show that the efficiency increases with increasing the mass flow rate for the range of the flow rate used in this work between 0.0121-0.042 kg/s. Moreover, the maximum efficiency was obtained by using 6 fins at the same mass flow rate. The maximum efficiency obtained for the 2, 4, 6 fins of SAH were 75.0%, 82.1% and 85.9% respectively for the mass flow rate of 0.042 kg/s. In addition, the maximum average temperature difference between the inlet and the outlet, ΔT, for the SAH with 6 fins was the highest for the same mass flow rates compared to 2 and 4 fins SAHs. The maximum average and instantaneous peak of ΔT obtained were 43.1 °C and 62.1 °C respectively for the 6 fins SAH when the mass flow rate was 0.0121 kg/s. Comparison of the results of a counter flow packed bed collector with those of a conventional collector shows a substantial enhancement in the thermal efficiency.