Numerical study of thermal performance of perforated circular pin fin heat sinks in forced convection

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical simulation of the heat transfer performance under forced convection for two different types of circular pin fin heat sinks with (Type A) and without (Type B) a hollow in the heated base. COMSOL Multiphysics, which is used for the thermal hydraulic analyses, has proven to be a powerful finite-element-based simulation tool for solving multiple physics-based systems of partial and ordinary differential equations. The standard \( \kappa - \varepsilon \) two-equations turbulence model is employed to describe the turbulent structure and behavior. The numerical results are validated with the experimental results, and are shown to be in good agreement. The effects of the Reynolds number, height of the fin, finning factor and the perforated base plate on the heat-transfer coefficient are investigated and evaluated. The present study strongly recommends the use of a small hollow (\( (D_{h} /D_{b} ) < 0.15 \)) constructed in the base plate of the pin fin heat sink.