Cyclic thermal management of electronics using phase change materials with thermoelectric-assisted active regeneration

The increasing power density of compact electronic devices requires thermal management systems capable of controlling transient heat loads while maintaining repeatable operation. In this study, a hybrid PCM-TEC thermal management system was experimentally investigated by integrating phase change material (PCM)-filled heat sinks with thermoelectric cooler (TEC)-fan-assisted active regeneration. Two commercial PCMs, RT50 and RT35HC, were examined under cyclic heat loads of 15 W, 20 W, and 25 W. The TEC-fan unit was activated when the base temperature reached the threshold value of 60 °C, which allowed the stored heat to be actively removed and the PCM cooling capacity to be restored before the next cycle. The results showed that RT50 provided stable cyclic performance under all tested heat loads, with regeneration times ranging from approximately 10–23 min. In contrast, RT35HC showed much slower recovery of 80–84 min at 15 W and 51–115 min at 20 W, while complete regeneration was not achieved at 25 W. A passive baseline test confirmed that TEC-fan-assisted regeneration reduced the recovery time compared with natural cooling. Energy analysis showed that the regeneration energy depended strongly on cooling duration. Therefore, RT50 imposed a lower energy penalty than RT35HC because of its shorter regeneration time. The findings demonstrate that PCM selection for cyclic thermal management should not be based only on latent heat capacity; rather, the melting range must be matched with the control threshold and active regeneration capacity. The proposed PCM-TEC system provides a promising approach for compact electronic cooling applications subjected to repeated or intermittent heat loads.