Numerical investigation of heat transfer performance for rectangular, elliptical, and airfoil shaped pin fin heatsinks through the novel combination of perforation and bulge inserts

Abstract

There is a desire to improve the forced convection heat transfer for various innovative shaped pin fin heatsink designs. Hence, a numerical investigation is conducted to observe the effect of convection heat transfer for various shaped pin fin heatsinks by changing various parameters on fluid and solid domains. Different shapes of perforations and bulges are added to create more surface area and flow pattern change. Several pin fin configurations are proposed for the design to increase the performance. Navier-Stokes's equations and RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) based k − ε turbulence model governs the study's modeling. The investigations are performed using the CFD program for Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 8547 to 21,367. The results reveal that elliptical shape pin fins play a crucial role in enhancing hydro-thermal performance factor (HTPF). The circular perforated elliptical pin fin provides a maximum HTPF of 1.72 as the Re changes from 8547 to 21,367. A performance improvement of 56% to 72% is found, which merits consideration in the pin fin heatsink design. Furthermore, the heat transfer performance for the elliptical-shaped circular perforation pin fin is examined using copper-diamond composite material. The Cu-diamond composite has a maximum HTPF of 1.75 at a Reynolds number of 21,367.