Development of Micro Channel Heat Exchanging.

Abstract

The micro channel heat exchanger, which has many small channels (10∼100 μm order), is a promising device to cool an integrated circuit, which generates a large amount of heat. In order to investigate the performance of the micro channel heat exchanger, three-dimensional numerical simulations and experiments on heat transfer behavior and pressure loss were carried out. So far as the heat transfer phenomena is concerned, results obtained using a silicon chip micro channel model showed a very small thermal resistance, about 0.1 (Kcm2/W). And, in the designing of heat exchanger, the pressure loss phenomenon is of practical importance. In the present study, measured pressure loss showed good agreement with that of analytical result obtained on the basis of fully developed laminar pipe flow assumption. Furthermore, a practical setup was made with a micro channel heat exchanger to clarify the possibility of using the micro channel heat exchanger in electrical equipment. As a result, it was confirmed that the performance of the micro channel heat exchanger system is sufficient to cool a silicon chip which generates a large amount of heat, and the scale of the system is compact compared to that of the whole setup of electrical equipment.