Abstract

An in-depth design analysis of mini-channel heat sinks towards determining the optimum dimensions has been presented. Focussing on this objective, rectangular mini-channel heat sink has been modelled as fins on a substrate subjected to constant heat flux at the bottom. The flux distribution from the substrate bottom to the convective fluid being sensitive to small hydraulic diameter of the flow passages, the boundary condition at the fin base is revised appropriately. However, before applying the boundary condition to solve the governing fin heat transfer equation, its accuracy is verified against a fully conjugate CFD simulation (with an agreement between results within 2%). The resulting closed form analytical solution has been utilised to derive ultimately an expression for the heat sink thermal performance parameter in terms of net thermal resistance. The predicted results are compared with the experimental data of the same research group and found to be in good agreement. Finally, the effect of different channel dimensions, namely fin thickness, number of fins, flow rate and channel depth on the thermal resistance has been critically examined. Recommendation of using geometric fin efficiency to decide the optimum fin height or channel depth has been proposed.

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