"Development of a SMA Based Device for the Thermal Management of Electronic Systems"

Many field systems require the ability to transfer generated heat to the surrounding environment, thus discharging extra heat and preventing thermal damage. Such thermal management is needed mostly in electronic systems, which generate a lot of heat and are susceptible to high temperatures. Yet, in some cases the environment temperature may rise above the operation temperature of the electronic components and therefore might cause overheating of the latter.

The device presented herein and named "Thermal Diode" was designed to provide a solution in scenarios where surrounding temperature varies during the electronics mission duration. Its purpose - to allow heat dissipation to the environment only when the ambient temperature is lower than the working temperature of the electronic component. When the ambient temperature rises the device prevents the heat transfer (in the opposite direction).

The current design of the "Thermal Diode" utilizes SMA based actuators to switch between working modes. The device was designed to operate multiple cycles, therefore a combination between bias steel springs and SMA actuators was necessary. During the talk both mechanical and thermal calculations will be discussed.

As well as comparison to experimental results, along with design considerations and the pros and cons the current design.