Phase Change Material heatsink suppliers?

[RichLeimbach]

Thinking about using PCMs as a sink to absorb extra thermal energy from intermittent heating of electronic components. Anyone with experience with the pros and cons of PCMs or links to any good contacts or manufacturers? All help is appreciated.

 

[scoot]

Hi Rich, Thermagon, Raychem and Fujipoly are all manufacturers of phase change materials. There are two important factors when selecting a phase change material; thermal impedance/conductivity of the material and the surface finish and/or flatness of the heatsink surface. A thicker, more compliant material is necessary for a wavy surface, but the thicker the material, the higher the thermal impedance. Hope this helps.

 

[ko99]

I just joined and noticed your question. If you're looking for a heat absorbing mass, many wax suppliers can do this (I used a local supplier but can't recall the name).
PRO is that when the PCM melts, the specific heat jumps up, enabling it to absorb heat from nearby sources and slow down their temperature rise. It works much better than an equivalent mass.
CONs are the advantage is only temporary, the PCM should have good thermal contact with the other heat sources, the PCM must be in a sealed container, the melting point must be carefully chosen (suppliers can mix a wax to match the melting point you specify).
I can mail you a pdf file describing an application, if you like. Kevin O'Connor

http://www.ECooling.biz

 

[RichLeimbach]

Kevin,
I need to do a little more info gathering on this end before I give out bad info, but I appreciate the input. I was interested in the PCMs because our application is very sporadic, but does create large temperature jumps (even with large aluminum heat sinks) when used heavily for short periods of time. We're doing some testing to determine actual heating and I'll post some of this info for discussion when I get it.

- Rich