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

Abstract

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. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.