Experimental investigation of heat transfer enhancement using impingement of multiple water jets

The problem of cooling electronic components has become a subject of special interest in recent years due to the increasing capacity and rapidly decreasing size of electronic components. Direct contact cooling using multiple jet impingement is considered the most effective method. The heat transfer problem is complex and a better understanding of the jet impingement method is essential for the proper application of this method for electronic cooling. Investigations were carried out using an electrically heated test plate. Heat flux in the range of 25 to $200 \ \hbox{W/cm}^{2}$ , which is a typical requirement for cooling high power electronic components was dissipated using 0.5‐mm diameter water jets arranged in a 7×7 array with a pitch of 3 mm. Temperature difference between the test plate and water was within $30 \ ^{\circ}\hbox{C}$ . Tests were performed in the flow rate range of 22 to 40 ml/min, resulting in a Reynolds number range of 1100 to 1750. Results show a significant increase in the heat transfer coefficient or Nusselt number with an increase in heat flux. The effect of the flow rate or Reynolds number on the heat transfer coefficient is found to be negligible. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20291