Structure and thermal properties of periodic split-flow microchannels

Abstract

Microchannel heat sinks have important applications in integrated circuits, but the current traditional long straight microchannel heat dissipation process causes uneven temperature and low heat dissipation efficiency. In this paper, a periodic split-flow microstructure is designed and integrated with traditional microchannels to form a periodic split-flow microchannel heat sink. Numerical simulation is used to study the influence of the number, the arrangement and structural parameters of microstructures in a single microchannel on its thermal performance. The simulation results show that the split-flow microstructure can increase the heat exchange area, break the original laminar boundary layer, promote the mixing of cold/hot coolant, and significantly improve the heat dissipation performance of the microchannel. Through comparative experiments, 9 groups are finally determined as the optimal number of microstructures in a single microchannel. At a heat flux of 100 W/cm<sup>2</sup>, when the coolant flow rate at the inlet is 1.18 m/s, after 9 groups of microstructures are added into a single microchannel, the maximum temperature drops by about 24 K and the thermal resistance decreases by about 44%. The Nusselt number is increased by about 124%, and the performance evaluation criterion (PEC) reaches 1.465. On this basis, the microstructure adopts a staggered gradual periodic arrangement to avoid the long-distance non-microstructure section between the two groups of microstructures. The turbulence element that gradually widens along the flow direction makes the coolant fully utilized. This results in a reduction in the high/low temperature zone and alleviates the temperature gradient that exists along the flow direction of the heat dissipation surface, and the pressure drop loss is also reduced to a certain extent compared with the pressure drop in the uniform arrangement, and the comprehensive thermal performance is further improved. It shows broad application prospects in the field of high-power integrated circuits and electronic cooling.