Extended surfaces (fins) have been used to enhance heat transfer in many applications. In electronics cooling, fin-based heat sinks are commonly designed so that coolants (gas or liquid) are forced to pass through the narrow straight channel. To improve the overall heat sink performance, this study investigated numerically the details of heat sinks with interrupted and staggered fins cooled by forced convection. Long and narrow flow passages or channels are widely seen in heat sinks. Based on the fundamental theory of heat transfer, however, a new boundary layer can be created periodically with interrupted fins, and the entrance region can produce a very high heat transfer coefficient. The staggered fins can take advantage of the lower temperature flow from the upstream. The tradeoff is the higher pressure loss. A major challenge for heat sink design is to reduce the pressure loss while keeping the heat transfer rate high. The effect of fin shapes on the heat sink performance was also examined. Two different shapes under study are rectangular and elliptic with various gaps between the interrupted fins in the flow direction. In addition, studies were also conducted on the parametric effects of Reynolds number and gap length. It is observed that heat transfer increases with the Reynolds number due to the feature of developing boundary layer. If the same pressure drop is considered, the heat transfer rate of elliptic fins is higher than that of rectangular fins.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2009 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the InterPACK09 and 3rd Energy Sustainability Conferences
July 19–23, 2009
San Francisco, California, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Heat Transfer Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4356-7
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Numerical Simulation of Heat Sink Performance With Interrupted and Staggered Fins
Suabsakul Gururatana,
Suabsakul Gururatana
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Search for other works by this author on:
Xianchang Li
Xianchang Li
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Search for other works by this author on:
Suabsakul Gururatana
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Xianchang Li
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Paper No:
HT2009-88534, pp. 989-996; 8 pages
Published Online:
March 12, 2010
Citation
Gururatana, S, & Li, X. "Numerical Simulation of Heat Sink Performance With Interrupted and Staggered Fins." Proceedings of the ASME 2009 Heat Transfer Summer Conference collocated with the InterPACK09 and 3rd Energy Sustainability Conferences. Volume 1: Heat Transfer in Energy Systems; Thermophysical Properties; Heat Transfer Equipment; Heat Transfer in Electronic Equipment. San Francisco, California, USA. July 19–23, 2009. pp. 989-996. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/HT2009-88534
Download citation file:
9
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Spray Cooling of High Aspect Ratio Open Microchannels
J. Heat Transfer (August,2007)
Studies on Optimum Distribution of Fins in Heat Sinks Filled With Phase Change Materials
J. Heat Transfer (March,2008)
Merits of Employing Foam Encapsulated Phase Change Materials for Pulsed Power Electronics Cooling Applications
J. Electron. Packag (June,2008)
Related Chapters
Cooling of a Chip Utilizing a Heat Sink with Rectangular Fins
Everyday Heat Transfer Problems: Sensitivities to Governing Variables
Air Cooling and Heat Sinks
Thermal Management of Telecommunications Equipment
Introduction
Thermal Management of Microelectronic Equipment