Heat transfer and flow performance of a novel T type heat sink with GaInSn coolant

Abstract

In order to improve heat transfer rate, a novel T type heat sink is proposed. The numerical and experimental researches are carried out on flow and heat transfer performance of the new heat sink. The new heat sink consists of six inlet ports and six outlet ports, which attribute to shorter flow channels. Higher Nusselt number and much better temperature uniformity of the heating surface are obtained due to short channels, the arrangement of the inlet and outlet in the new design compared to the traditional design. Then, the effects of four arrangements of inlets and channel number on the hydro-thermal performance are examined numerically. Both the Nusselt number and friction factor of the heat sink with eight inlets are the lowest, while the temperature uniformity is the best. The larger the channel number, the higher Nusselt number with lower pressure drop. This is because a reduction of the temperature rise for a part with more channels is found, although the velocity in the channel is lower. The total thermal resistance is low for large channel numbers due to high heat transfer rate, and the better temperature uniformity is observed for the larger channel number heat sink. Finally, the effects of the type of coolant on the hydro-thermal performance are also examined numerically. The Nusselt number of the heat sink using GaInSn coolant is larger than that using water.