Influence of channel shape on the thermal and hydraulic performance of microchannel heat sink

Microchannel heat sinks (MCHS) can be made with channels of various shapes. Their size and shape may have remarkable influence on the thermal and hydrodynamic performance of MCHS. In this paper, numerical simulations are carried out to solve the three-dimensional steady and conjugate heat transfer governing equations using the Finite-Volume Method (FVM) of a water flow MCHS to evaluate the effect of shape of channels on the performance of MCHS with the same cross-section. The effect of shape of the channels on MCHS performance is studied for different channel shapes such as zigzag, curvy, and step microchannels, and it is compared with straight and wavy channels. The MCHS performance is evaluated in terms of temperature profile, heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, friction factor, and wall shear stress. Results show that for the same cross-section of a MCHS, the temperature and the heat transfer coefficient of the zigzag MCHS is the least and greatest, respectively, among various channel shapes. The pressure drop penalty for all channel shapes is higher than the conventional straight MCHS. The zigzag MCHS has the highest value of pressure drop, friction factor, and wall shear stress followed by the curvy and step MCHS, respectively.     

An experimental study of flow friction and heat transfer in wavy microchannels with rectangular cross section

Experimental investigation has been conducted on the flow friction and heat transfer in sinusoidal microchannels with rectangular cross sections. The microchannels considered consist of ten identical wavy units with average width of about 205 μm, depth of 404 μm, wavelength of 2.5 mm and wavy amplitude of 0–259 μm. Each test piece is made of copper and contains 60–62 wavy microchannels in parallel. Deionized water is employed as the working fluid and the Reynolds numbers considered range from about 300 to 800. The experimental results, mainly the overall Nusselt number and friction factor, for wavy microchannels are compared with those of straight baseline channels with the same cross section and footprint length. It is found that the heat transfer performance of the present wavy microchannels is much better than that of straight baseline microchannels; at the same time the pressure drop penalty of the present wavy microchannels can be much smaller than the heat transfer enhancement. Conjugate simulation based on the classical continuum approach is also carried out for similar experimental conditions, the numerical results agree reasonably well with experimental data.     

The effect of geometrical parameters on heat transfer characteristics of microchannels heat sink with different shapes

The effect of geometrical parameters on water flow and heat transfer characteristics in microchannels is numerically investigated for Reynolds number range of 100–1000. The three-dimensional steady, laminar flow and heat transfer governing equations are solved using finite volume method. The computational domain is taken as the entire heat sink including the inlet/outlet ports, wall plenums, and microchannels. Three different shapes of microchannel heat sinks are investigated in this study which are rectangular, trapezoidal, and triangular. The water flow field and heat transfer phenomena inside each shape of heated microchannels are examined with three different geometrical dimensions. Using the averaged fluid temperature and heat transfer coefficient in each shape of the heat sink to quantify the fluid flow and temperature distributions, it is found that better uniformities in heat transfer coefficient and temperature can be obtained in heat sinks having the smallest hydraulic diameter. It is also inferred that the heat sink having the smallest hydraulic diameter has better performance in terms of pressure drop and friction factor among other heat sinks studied.     

Channel cross section effect on heat transfer performance of oblique finned microchannel heat sink

In the present work, the effect of channel cross section on the heat transfer performance of an oblique finned micro-channel heat sink was investigated. Water and Al₂O₃/water nanofluid of volume fraction 0.25% were used as a coolant. The oblique finned microchannels are designed with three channel cross-sections namely square, semicircle and trapezoidal. The primary work of this paper is to study the heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics in the oblique finned microchannel. The experimental setup and procedure are validated using water as coolant in a micro-channel heat sink. Heat transfer and flow characteristics are examined for three cross-sections of varying mass flux. The trapezoidal channel cross-section increases the considerable heat transfer rate improvement for both water and nanofluid by 3.133% and 5.878% compared to square and semicircle cross section. Also, the pressure drop is higher in the trapezoidal cross-section over the square and semicircle cross section. This is due to increase in friction loss of trapezoidal cross section. The results indicate that trapezoidal cross-section oblique finned micro-channel is more suitable for heat transfer in the electronic cooling application.     

Heat transfer in rectangular microchannels heat sink using nanofluids

The effect of using nanofluids on heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in rectangular shaped microchannel heat sink (MCHS) is numerically investigated for Reynolds number range of 100–1000. In this study, the MCHS performance using alumina–water (Al₂O₃-H₂O) nanofluid with volume fraction ranged from 1% to 5% was used as a coolant is examined. The three-dimensional steady, laminar flow and heat transfer governing equations are solved using finite volume method. The MCHS performance is evaluated in terms of temperature profile, heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, friction factor, wall shear stress and thermal resistance. The results reveal that when the volume fraction of nanoparticles is increased under the extreme heat flux, both the heat transfer coefficient and wall shear stress are increased while the thermal resistance of the MCHS is decreased. However, nanofluid with volume fraction of 5% could not be able to enhance the heat transfer or performing almost the same result as pure water. Therefore, the presence of nanoparticles could enhance the cooling of MCHS under the extreme heat flux conditions with the optimum value of nanoparticles. Only a slight increase in the pressure drop across the MCHS is found compared with the pure water-cooled MCHS.     

Direct numerical simulation of fluid flow and heat transfer in periodic wavy channels with rectangular cross-sections

Fully-developed flow and heat transfer in periodic wavy channels with rectangular cross sections are studied using direct numerical simulation, for increasing Reynolds numbers spanning from the steady laminar to transitional flow regimes. The results show that steady flow is characterized by the formation of symmetric secondary flow or Dean vortices when liquid flows past the bends. It is found that the patterns of Dean vortices may evolve along the flow direction, thus leading to chaotic advection, which can greatly enhance the convective fluid mixing and heat transfer. With increasing Reynolds numbers, the flow undergoes transition from a steady state to a periodic one with a single frequency, and subsequently to a quasiperiodic flow with two incommensurate fundamental frequencies. Within these unsteady regimes, the flow is characterized by very complex Dean vortices patterns which evolve temporally and spatially along the flow direction, and the flow symmetry may even be lost. Further increase in Reynolds number leads to chaotic flow, where the Fourier spectrum of the velocity evolution becomes broadband. The bifurcation scenario in wavy channels may thus share some common features with the well-known Ruelle–Takens–Newhouse scenario. Heat transfer simulation in all flow regimes is carried out with constant wall temperature condition and liquid water as the coolant. It is found that due to the efficient mixing in wavy channels, the heat transfer performance is always significantly more superior to that of straight channels with the same cross sections; at the same time the pressure drop penalty of wavy channels can be much smaller than the heat transfer enhancement. The present study shows that these wavy channels may have advantages over straight channels and thus serve as promising candidates for incorporation into efficient heat transfer devices.     

Experimental and analytical study of the effect of contact angle on liquid convective heat transfer in microchannels

In this paper we examine the effect of contact angle (or surface wettability) on the convective heat transfer coefficient in microchannels. Slip flow, where the fluid velocity at the wall is non-zero, is most likely to occur in microchannels due to its dependence on shear rate or wall shear stress. We show analytically that for a constant pressure drop, the presence of slip increases the Nusselt number. In a microchannel heat exchanger we modified the surface wettability from a contact angle of 20°–120° using thin film coating technology. Apparent slip flow is implied from pressure and flow rate measurements with a departure from classical laminar friction coefficients above a critical shear rate of approximately 10,000 s⁻¹. The magnitude of this departure is dependant on the contact angle with higher contact angles surfaces exhibiting larger pressure drop decreases. Similarly, the non-dimensional heat flux is found to decrease relative to laminar non-slip theory, and this decrease is also a function of the contact angle. Depending on the contact angle and the wall shear rate, variations in the heat transfer rate exceeding 10% can be expected. Thus the contact angle is an important consideration in the design of micro, and even more so, nano heat exchangers.     

Experimental investigations of flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop in straight and expanding microchannels – A comparative study

Flow boiling experiments were conducted in straight and expanding microchannels with similar dimensions and operating conditions. Deionized water was used as the coolant. The test vehicles were made from copper with a footprint area of 25 mm × 25 mm. Microchannels having nominal width of 300 μm and a nominal aspect ratio of 4 were formed by wire cut Electro Discharge Machining process. The measured surface roughness (Ra) was about 2.0 μm. To facilitate easier comparison with the straight microchannels and also to simplify the method of fabrication, the expanding channels were formed with the removal of fins at selected location from the straight microchannel design, instead of using a diverging channel. Tests were performed on both the microchannels over a range of mass fluxes, heat fluxes and an inlet temperature of 90 °C. It was observed that the two-phase pressure drop across the expanding microchannel heat sink was significantly lower as compared to its straight counterpart. The pressure drop and wall temperature fluctuations were seen reduced in the expanding microchannel heat sink. It was also noted that the expanding microchannel heat sink had a better heat transfer performance than the straight microchannel heat sink, under similar operating conditions. This phenomenon in expanding microchannel heat sink, which was observed in spite of it having a lower convective heat transfer area, is explained based on its improved flow boiling stability that reduces the pressure drop oscillations, temperature oscillations and hence partial dry out.     

Analysis of the flow field,thermal performance,and heat transfer augmentation in circular tube using different dimple geometrical configurations with internal twisted-tape insert

In this study, a numerical investigation for the fluid flow field analysis using different configuration dimple parameters in conjunction with an internal type insert in pipe is carried out. The effects of the dimple diameters with a center twisted tape on the flow pattern, pressure drop, friction factor, and heat transfer characteristics are investigated. The influence of the latter device on heat performance and thermal-hydraulic performance evaluation factor (PEF) were carried out in a pipe for fully developed flow with range for fully developed flow with range of Reynolds number (Re) of 1573 and 23 592. Experiments with numerical models are performed using different dimpled dimeters by inserting twisted tapes. The outcomes observe that the qualitative analysis for flow fields such as static pressure, dynamic pressure, velocity magnitude, wall shear stress, and turbulent kinetic energy as well as the quantities analysis for pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient friction factor, and Nu number in dimpled pipe fitted with twisted tape are greater than plain pipe. This is because using these devices cause more secondary flow, swirl flow, and flow mixing that lead to higher turbulence, which, in turn, enhance the overall heat transfer. The results indicated that the lower and higher values of thermal PEF are about 0.78 and 1.6, respectively, at the dimple dimmers of 1 mm.     

Comparison of performance of heat regenerators: Relation between heat transfer efficiency and pressure drop

Heat regenerators transfer heat from one gas to another, with an intermediate storage in solids. The heat transfer surface for gas flow application should provide at the same time high surface area and low friction factor. Three geometries of heat transfer surface, monolith, stack of woven screens and bed of spheres, have been compared. Their performance was evaluated from the pressure drop of the heat regenerator working at a given heat transfer efficiency. The comparison was performed using numerical simulation and published measurements of heat transfer and flow friction characteristics. By adjusting the length and the period of the exchanger, it is possible to obtain the same heat transfer efficiency with the three geometries. Beds of spheres give very short and compact heat regenerators, working at high pressure drop. At the opposite, monoliths form long regenerators working at low pressure drop. Stacks of woven screens cover a wide range of performance: low porosity woven screens give high heat transfer efficiency and high pressure drop, while high porosity woven screens offer performance similar to that of the monoliths. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical Analysis of Flow and Thermal Performance of Liquid-Cooling Microchannel Heat Sinks with Bifurcation

Single-phase liquid-cooling microchannels have received great attention to remove the gradually increased heat loads of heat sinks. Proper changes of the flow path and/or heat transfer surface can result in much better thermal performance of microchannel heat sinks. In this study, a kind of rectangular straight microchannel heat sink with bifurcation flow arrangement has been designed, and the corresponding laminar flow and heat transfer have been investigated numerically. Four different configurations are considered. The effects of the bifurcation ratio (the initial channel number over the bifurcating channel number) and length ratio (the channel length before bifurcation over the bifurcation channel length) on laminar heat transfer, pressure drop, and thermal resistance are considered and compared with those of the traditional straight microchannel heat sink without bifurcation flow. The overall thermal resistances subjected to inlet Reynolds number and pumping power are compared for the five microchannel heat sinks. Results show that the thermal performance of the microchannel heat sink with bifurcation flow is better than that of the corresponding straight microchannel heat sink. The heat sinks with larger bifurcation ratio and length ratio provide much better thermal performance. It is suggested to employ bifurcation flow path in the liquid-cooling microchannel heat sinks to improve the overall thermal performance by proper design of the bifurcation position and number of channels.     

Laminar convective heat transfer in chaotic configuration

The convective heat transfer in chaotic configuration of circular cross-section under laminar flow regime at different values of Dean number and Prandtl number is investigated numerically. The chaotic configuration is the combination of 90° bends and coils. The insertion of equidistant 90° bends between the two consecutive coil produces the phenomenon of flow inversion. The hydrodynamics and heat transfer under laminar flow conditions in the chaotic configuration with constant wall flux as a boundary condition is studied. The control-volume finite difference method with second-order accuracy is used. The chaotic configuration shows a 25–36% enhancement in the heat transfer due to chaotic mixing while relative pressure drop is 5–6%. The effect of Prandtl number on fully developed heat transfer coefficient is also reported. It is observed that heat transfer increases with increase in Prandtl number. The stretching and folding phenomenon in chaotic configuration is observed and discussed for heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in the chaotic configuration. The cyclic oscillation behavior in the heat transfer coefficient with downstream distance in the chaotic configuration and coiled tube is also observed and discussed. It appeared that heat transfer is strongly influenced by flow inversion. The effect of boundary conditions on heat transfer performance in the chaotic configuration as well as in the coiled tube is also carried out. The study is further extended to predict hydrodynamics and heat transfer with temperature-dependent viscosity in the chaotic configuration. A comparative study for heat transfer and friction factor is also carried out for constant and temperature-dependent viscosity in coiled tube and chaotic configuration. It was observed that the heat transfer under heating condition with temperature-dependent viscosity is higher as compared to the constant viscosity result while friction factor shows the reverse phenomenon in the chaotic configuration.     

Numerical modelling of boiling heat transfer in microchannels

In this paper we report the results of our modelling studies on two-phase forced convection in microchannels using water as the fluid medium. The study incorporates the effects of fluid flow rate, power input and channel geometry on the flow resistance and heat transfer from these microchannels. Two separate numerical models have been developed assuming homogeneous and annular flow boiling. Traditional assumptions like negligible single-phase pressure drop or fixed inlet pressure have been relaxed in the models making analysis more complex. The governing equations have been solved from the grass-root level to predict the boiling front, pressure drop and thermal resistance as functions of exit pressure and heat input. The results of both the models are compared to each other and with available experimental data. It is seen that the annular flow model typically predicts higher pressure drop compared to the homogeneous model. Finally, the model has also been extended to study the effects of non-uniform heat input along the flow direction. The results show that the non-uniform power map can have a very strong effect on the overall fluid dynamics and heat transfer.     

An experimental study of convective heat transfer in silicon microchannels with different surface conditions

An experimental investigation has been performed on the laminar convective heat transfer and pressure drop of water in 13 different trapezoidal silicon microchannels. It is found that the values of Nusselt number and apparent friction constant depend greatly on different geometric parameters. The laminar Nusselt number and apparent friction constant increase with the increase of surface roughness and surface hydrophilic property. These increases become more obvious at larger Reynolds numbers. The experimental results also show that the Nusselt number increases almost linearly with the Reynolds number at low Reynolds numbers (Re<100), but increases slowly at a Reynolds number greater than 100. Based on 168 experimental data points, dimensionless correlations for the Nusselt number and the apparent friction constant are obtained for the flow of water in trapezoidal microchannels having different geometric parameters, surface roughnesses and surface hydrophilic properties. Finally, an evaluation of heat flux per pumping power and per temperature difference is given for the microchannels used in this experiment.     

Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of refrigerant R-410A flow in a vertical plate heat exchanger

Heat transfer and associated frictional pressure drop in the condensing flow of the ozone friendly refrigerant R-410A in a vertical plate heat exchanger (PHE) are investigated experimentally in the present study. In the experiment two vertical counter flow channels are formed in the exchanger by three plates of commercial geometry with a corrugated sinusoidal shape of a chevron angle of 60°. Downflow of the condensing refrigerant R-410A in one channel releases heat to the upflow of cold water in the other channel. The effects of the refrigerant mass flux, imposed heat flux, system pressure (saturated temperature) and mean vapor quality of R-410A on the measured data are explored in detail. The results indicate that the R-410A condensation heat transfer coefficient and associated frictional pressure drop in the PHE increase almost linearly with the mean vapor quality, but the system pressure only exhibits rather slight effects. Furthermore, increases in the refrigerant mass flux and imposed heat flux result in better condensation heat transfer accompanying with a larger frictional pressure drop. Besides, the imposed heat flux exhibits stronger effects on the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop than the refrigerant mass flux especially at low refrigerant vapor quality. The friction factor is found to be strongly influenced by the refrigerant mass flux and vapor quality, but is almost independent of the imposed heat flux and saturated pressure. Finally, an empirical correlation for the R-410A condensation heat transfer coefficient in the PHE is proposed. In addition, results for the friction factor are correlated against the Boiling number and equivalent Reynolds number of the two-phase condensing flow.     

Configuration optimization of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles using multi-objective genetic algorithm based on fluid-structure interaction

The configuration parameters of helical angle and overlapped degree of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles have been discussed for the thermal-structural comprehensive performance. Based on fluid-structure interaction theory, a method on configuration optimization of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles is introduced using second-order polynomial regression response surface combined with Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of helical angle, and decreases with the increase of overlapped degree under certain shell-inlet velocity. And the performance of flow and heat transfer is more sensitive to helical angle compared with overlapped degree. The maximum shear stress increases with helical angle, but it is almost unaffected by overlapped degree for mechanical properties of helical baffles. The objectives of optimization are the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop maximizing and maximum shear stress minimizing with scope of allowable stress, and three optimal structures are obtained. The optimal results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop increases averagely by 14.1%, the maximum shear stress decreases averagely by 4.1%, which provides theoretical guidance for industrial design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles.     

Heat-transfer enhancement in fin-and-tube heat exchanger with improved fin design

This work presents information of an experimental design on the elements of the fin-and-tube heat exchanger. In this study, three different fins (plate fin, wavy fin, and compounded fin) were investigated in a wind tunnel. The heat transfer coefficient, the pressure drop of the air side, the Colburn factor (j), and fanning friction factor (f) against air velocity (1–3 m/s) and Reynolds number (600–2000) have been discussed. In order to shed light on the fluid flow phenomena, flow visualization was also realized to observe the detailed fluid flow characteristics. The results of the wavy fin to the flat fin show that the pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient, f factor and j factor increase about 10.9–31.9%, 11.8–24.0%, 2.2–27.5% and 0.5–2.7%, respectively. In addition, the results of the compounded fin compared to the flat fin show that the pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient, f factor and j factor increase about 33.5–63.1%, 27.0–45.5%, 6.9–71.1% and 9.4–13.2%, respectively. In summary, this study strongly suggests the use of the compounded fin constructed for heat exchanger.     

Numerical study of local heat transfer coefficient and fin efficiency of wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers

Three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed for laminar flow of wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers by using body-fitted coordinates (BFC) method with fin efficiency effect accounted. The prediction results of average Nusselt number, friction factor and fin efficiency were compared with the related experimental correlations [R.C. Xin, H.Z. Li, H.J. Kang, W. Li, W.Q. Tao, An experimental investigation on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of triangular wavy fin-and-tube heat exchanger surfaces, J. Xi'an Jiaotong Univ. 28 (2) (1994) 77–83] and Schmidt approximation [T.E. Schmidt, Heat transfer calculations for extended surfaces, Refrigerating Engineering (April 1949) 351–357]. For Reynolds numbers based on the tube outside diameter ranging from 500 to 4000, the mean deviation is 3.3% for Nusselt number, 1.9% for friction factor and 3.6% for fin efficiency. The distributions of local Nusselt number and fin efficiency on fin surface were studied at wavy angle equal to 0° (plain plate fin), 10° and 20° respectively. The local Nusselt number decreases along the air flow direction, but fin efficiency increases in general. The wavy angle can greatly affect the distributions of local Nusselt number and fin efficiency, and make the distributions present fluctuation along the flow direction. The result also shows that the fin efficiency at the inlet region of wavy fin is larger than that of plain plate fin at the same region. With the increase of Reynolds number, the effects of wavy angle on the distributions of local Nusselt number and fin efficiency are more and more significant.     

Methods for Calculating Shear Stress at the Wall for Single-Phase Flow in Tubular,Annular, Plate,and Shell-Side Heat Exchanger Geometries

Understanding shear stress at the heat transfer surface is important because sufficient shear stress (velocity) is known to mitigate heat transfer fouling. This comprehensive paper references much literature and complements it by deriving, generally starting from force balances, the equations for calculating isothermal shear stress at the wall for single-phase flow in all of the common heat exchanger geometries: tubular, annular, parallel plate (with and without corrugations), shell-side longitudinal/window, and shell-side cross. The method for shell-side flow crossing a bundle was based upon computational fluid dynamics simulations that computed the skin friction drag on the heat transfer surface as a fraction of the total pressure drop in a cross-pass.     

Three dimensional numerical analyses and optimization of offset strip-fin microchannel heat sinks

This paper presents a numerical study on laminar forced convection of water in offset strip-fin microchannels network heat sinks for microelectronic cooling. A 3-dimensional mathematical model, consisting of N–S equations and energy conservation equation, with the conjugate heat transfer between the heat sink base and liquid coolant taken into consideration is solved numerically. The heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics in offset strip-fin microchannels heat sinks are analyzed and the heat transfer enhancement mechanism is discussed. Effects of geometric size of strip-fin on the heat sink performance are investigated. It is found that there is an optimal strip-fin size to minimize the pressure drop or pumping power on the constraint condition of maximum wall temperature, and this optimal size depends on the input heat flux and the maximum wall temperature. The results of this paper are helpful to the design and optimization of offset strip-fin microchannel heat sinks for microelectronic cooling.