Experimental investigations on a variable channel width double layered minichannel heat sink

Abstract

The persistent development in modern electronics and communication technologies leads to compact and efficient devices. Conversely, it is accompanied by the downside of enormous heat generation in the constrained space of microelectronic devices. One of the substitutes for the high heat flux dissipation is a liquid cooled Minichannel Heat Sink. However, the drawbacks of higher temperature non-uniformity and higher pressure drop penalty associated with MCHS obliges its all-encompassing utilization. In view of tailing off these issues, a Variable Channel Width Double Layered Minichannel Heat Sink was proposed by the authors and its applicability is experimentally investigated in the present study. A Variable Channel Width Double Layered Minichannel Heat Sink consisting of two layers of MCHS having channels with variable widths in the axial direction are positioned one atop the other in such a way that the denser channel regions of upper and lower layers do not overlap (Zero Overlap). The present research is aimed to develop a test setup to experimentally investigate the influence of various heat flux (11.44 W/cm2- 30.09 W/cm2) and Reynolds number (46 – 138) on the thermal performance of a VWC DL-MCHS with zero overlap and to compare it with the numerical results. The performance of a Variable Channel Width Double Layered Minichannel Heat Sink was analysed in terms of major thermal performance parameters such as thermal resistance (Rth), temperature non-uniformity in the substrate (ΔTS) and total pressure drop (ΔPtotal). The overall thermo-hydraulic performance was evaluated in terms of COP. The agreed comparison between the present experimental and numerical results evidences the aptness of a VWC DL-MCHS geometry for real-life applications. Moreover, a Variable Channel Width Double Layered Minichannel Heat Sink shows significant improvement in overall thermal performance of about 1.53 to 2.35 times than the conventional DL-MCHS. Therefore, a Variable Channel Width Double Layered Minichannel Heat Sink has come out as an improved alternative for the thermal management of high heat flux electronic applications.