State of the art of micro vapour-compression systems

Abstract

Thermal management is becoming more challenging due to the increasing compactness and computational power of appliances. Affordable and efficient solutions include active liquid cooling methods, thermoelectric cooling, and the use of heat pipes. From these, vapour-compression technologies achieve the highest power density. However, the downscaling of vapour-compression for cooling of personal computers or workstations is rather problematic from several different reasons. The first problem concerns the low second law efficiency of miniature vapour-compression systems. The second problem concerns the available space occupation of such a cooling system. Moreover, miniature and high-power density condensers and evaporators have not yet been adequately researched and developed to date. In this review, we present several vapour-compression refrigeration systems that are based in some way on the miniaturisation of systems or individual components – evaporators, condensers, and compressors. These are presented and compared in terms of cooling power, COP, and the second law efficiency. At the end of the manuscript, guidelines for future improvements and the implementation of miniature vapour-compression systems are presented.