Numerical hydrothermal evaluation of heat transfer in a multi-mini-channel heat sink: Effect of square pin fins

• Published in: Results in engineering Vol. 20; p. 101403
• Main Author: Hussein, Haider Ali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 01-12-2023
• Subjects: Maldistribution; Numerical simulation; Performance index; Square pin fins; Thermal resistance
• ISSN: 2590-1230; 2590-1230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2023.101403

Heat sinks are a type of heat exchanger that is utilized to cool electronic devices. The study was focused on improving the hydrothermal performance of multi-mini-channel (MMCHS) heat sinks by tackling the issue of flow maldistribution through the amelioration of flow distribution. A numerical simulation was conducted to examine the hydrothermal performance of innovative heat sink arrangements, which included square fins and square pin fins. The finite element method was used to solve partial differential equations for laminar flow simulations. The investigation was executed in an environment of a single-phase flow, and water was employed as a coolant. The Stationary study was used when variables do not change over time. The mass flow rate spanned from 0.0021 to 0.0045 kg s−1. The data obtained from the experiment demonstrates that the altered channels exhibit enhanced heat transfer in contrast to the conventional rectangular channels. Increasing the mass flow rate leads to an increase in the average Nusselt number, pressure drop, and performance index. While reducing the average thermal resistance. Out of all the novel configurations tested, the heat sink with square fins and square pin fins multi-mini-channel (SSPMMCHS) demonstrated the most significant improvement in the Nusselt number, more than double in comparison with the conventional design. The average thermal resistance of the SSPMMCHS design was 0.1052, compared to 0.2008 for the conventional rectangular channel. The MMCHS achieved the best performance index, with a value of 2.21, which was accomplished by the SSPMMCHS.