CFD analysis of hotspots copper metal foam flat heat pipe for electronic cooling applications

Abstract

Hotspots have become one of the most limiting factors in the conception of more and more performing electronic chips. Although many wicking materials are used as porous media in used as porous media in flat plate heat pipe (FHP), copper metal foams are not well studied with these devices. In the present study, a three-dimensional FHPs with multi heat sources is investigated numerically using COMSOL Multiphysics. The potential use of copper metal foam as a wick structure is investigated. The effect of heat flux, as well as hotspot positions on heat pipe performance, is analyzed and results show that copper metal foam can be an alternative wick used for FHPs. Visualization is made taking into account the hot spot position effect at different heat flux. Results show that top hot spot positions especially close to the wall are the most critical locations where dry out can occur. Hot spot dimensions, as well as their distances and effective pore radius, have a significant effect on heat pipe operation.