Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels

This work carries out an investigation on the performance of a MEMS microchannel heatsink with multiple zig-zag microchannels (MCHSzz). The heat sink is realized in silicon and uses water as the coolant. The study is conducted by employing Fluent module of Ansys Workbench. The performance of zig-zag...

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Main Authors: Fadi Alnaimat, Dinumol Varghese, Bobby Mathew
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-11-01
Series:International Journal of Thermofluids
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202722000763
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author Fadi Alnaimat
Dinumol Varghese
Bobby Mathew
author_facet Fadi Alnaimat
Dinumol Varghese
Bobby Mathew
author_sort Fadi Alnaimat
collection DOAJ
description This work carries out an investigation on the performance of a MEMS microchannel heatsink with multiple zig-zag microchannels (MCHSzz). The heat sink is realized in silicon and uses water as the coolant. The study is conducted by employing Fluent module of Ansys Workbench. The performance of zig-zag and straight MCHS are compared for Reynolds number (Re) from 250 to 1500. The performance of the MCHS is quantified in terms of total thermal resistance (Rth) and pumping power (PPf) where Rth of zig-zag MCHS is better than that with straight microchannel; the enhanced thermal performance is achieved at the cost of increased PPf. Based on the cases studied in this work, it is observed that the relative change in Rth varied from 26% to 51% with increase in Re and the corresponding relative change in PPf varied from 40% to 120% with increase in Re. By employing zig-zag microchannels, it is possible to significantly reduce convective thermal resistance (Rth,cov), for a particular Re. Additionally, the influence of microchannel hydraulic diameter, orientation of microchannel, number of repeating units, and microchannel spacing are studied in this work. It is identified that the Rth and PPf over the considered range of Re decreased and increased, respectively, regardless of the geometric parameters. Additionally, Rth decreased with increase in geometric parameters for a specific Reynolds value until a threshold value beyond which no changes occur.
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spelling doaj.art-e2c7bee147d7442bb99dc6e5c168e1812022-12-22T02:48:34ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Thermofluids2666-20272022-11-0116100213Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannelsFadi Alnaimat0Dinumol Varghese1Bobby Mathew2Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesNational Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesMechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University, P. O. Box 15551, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Corresponding author.This work carries out an investigation on the performance of a MEMS microchannel heatsink with multiple zig-zag microchannels (MCHSzz). The heat sink is realized in silicon and uses water as the coolant. The study is conducted by employing Fluent module of Ansys Workbench. The performance of zig-zag and straight MCHS are compared for Reynolds number (Re) from 250 to 1500. The performance of the MCHS is quantified in terms of total thermal resistance (Rth) and pumping power (PPf) where Rth of zig-zag MCHS is better than that with straight microchannel; the enhanced thermal performance is achieved at the cost of increased PPf. Based on the cases studied in this work, it is observed that the relative change in Rth varied from 26% to 51% with increase in Re and the corresponding relative change in PPf varied from 40% to 120% with increase in Re. By employing zig-zag microchannels, it is possible to significantly reduce convective thermal resistance (Rth,cov), for a particular Re. Additionally, the influence of microchannel hydraulic diameter, orientation of microchannel, number of repeating units, and microchannel spacing are studied in this work. It is identified that the Rth and PPf over the considered range of Re decreased and increased, respectively, regardless of the geometric parameters. Additionally, Rth decreased with increase in geometric parameters for a specific Reynolds value until a threshold value beyond which no changes occur.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202722000763Electronics coolingMEMS heat sinksHeat transfer enhancementThermal resistanceZig-zag microchannel
spellingShingle Fadi Alnaimat
Dinumol Varghese
Bobby Mathew
Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
International Journal of Thermofluids
Electronics cooling
MEMS heat sinks
Heat transfer enhancement
Thermal resistance
Zig-zag microchannel
title Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
title_full Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
title_fullStr Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
title_short Investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of MEMS heat sinks with zig-zag microchannels
title_sort investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of mems heat sinks with zig zag microchannels
topic Electronics cooling
MEMS heat sinks
Heat transfer enhancement
Thermal resistance
Zig-zag microchannel
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666202722000763
work_keys_str_mv AT fadialnaimat investigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceofmemsheatsinkswithzigzagmicrochannels
AT dinumolvarghese investigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceofmemsheatsinkswithzigzagmicrochannels
AT bobbymathew investigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceofmemsheatsinkswithzigzagmicrochannels