Base station energy storage and heat dissipation

Currently, the majority of research concerning heat dissipation in 5G base stations is primarily focusing on passive cooling methods. Today, there is a clear gap in the literature in terms of research investigations that tend to quantify the temperature performances in 5G electronic devices.

As an example, one can mention the transition from homogeneous networks (comprising 1 to 3 base stations (BSs) per km 2) to heterogeneous networks (comprising 10 to 100 nodes per km 2). Furthermore, the growing need for larger storage capacities adds to energy requirements.

Innovative heat-dissipation solutions are necessary in preventing overheating and ensuring the reliable operation of future antennas and equipment. Energy consumption reduction should be developed in combination with a reduction in operational costs, all while retaining respect for the environment.

Many authors have been trying over the years to develop enhanced liquid-based coolers of base transceiver stations . For example, Figure 11 illustrates an enhanced liquid-cooled base transceiver station (BTS) developed by Huttunen et al., 2020, compared to an old one with a traditional heat sink.

Feng et al., 2024, proposed a new heat sink solution based on a microchannel thermosyphon array with air cooling; this was an attempt to optimize the design of 5G heat-dissipation devices. Their experimental measurements focused on the temperature uniformity across various filling ratios, heating power levels, and wind speeds.

Aslan et al., 2019 addressed a fully passive cooling approach using double-sided printed circuit board (PCB) configuration for antenna arrays. In comparison to conventional structures, their research findings indicated that utilizing a thicker ground plane leads to a better thermal performance.