Comparative study of elliptical fin microchannel over oblique micro‐fin heat sinks

Abstract

AbstractIn the present paper, the effect of elliptical fin and its orientation were computationally examined by considering equivalent fin cross‐sectional area and height of oblique fin to enhance thermal performance. A total of seven distinctly oriented elliptical fin microchannel models were developed and analyzed using finite volume method for velocity range of 0.2 to 0.9 m/s at constant heat flux of 65 W/cm2. The results showed that the elliptical fin microchannel model reduced pressure drop significantly and consumed less pumping power than the oblique fin microchannel model. It was also found that the average Nusselt number initially increases with decreasing elliptical fin orientation angle and then it rapidly decreases on further reduction of orientation angle beyond 4°. The optimal performance factor for a 4° elliptical fin was 1.21, with only a 6.5% penalty in wall temperature at Re 436. Furthermore, the maximum pumping power reduction of 41.4% was found for the 4° elliptical fin microchannel model with a 2.3% increase in Nusselt number. Hence, for the same pumping power, the 4° elliptical fin microchannel model performs better than oblique fin microchannel.