A set of experiments will be carried out to study natural convection heat transfer over horizontal and vertical heated surfaces using neutrally buoyant suspensions of microencapsulated phase change slurries. The objectives are (1) to verify theoretical predictions of an order-of-magnitude enhancement of heat transfer effectiveness over single phase systems; (2) to develop correlations to predict heat transfer for different slurry concentrations; and (3) to define the flow and temperature fields in various enclosures for validation of future detailed theoretical models. Thermal management of electronic devices becomes more important as miniaturization technology advances. Passive cooling through natural convection has the advantage of simplicity and reliability, but the heat transfer coefficients resulting from traditional working fluids are insufficient to handle the very high heat fluxes. This research aims to significantly extend the upper limit on natural convection by adding neutrally buoyant microspheres containing a phase change material to the fluid, greatly increasing the capacity to store heat.
