Numerical analysis of microchannel based bio-inspired heat sinks with multiple inlet-outlet pairs for cooling square shaped circuits

Heat dissipation in electronic circuits is important to maintain their reliability and functionality. In this work, microchannel based bio-inspired flow field models are proposed and numerically analyzed. The proposed flow fields have single to four inlet-outlet pairs. COMSOL is used to do the numerical analysis.  Conjugate heat transfer analysis is done on the quarter sectional models, utilizing bi-axial symmetry of the flow fields to reduce computational cost. Constant heat flux is applied to the base of the proposed heat sinks. The results show that the thermal and hydraulic resistances of the proposed models are lower than traditional micro-channel arrayed heat sinks. The four inlet-outlet pairs model shows a thermal resistance of ۰.۱۲۱ to ۰.۱۵۸ C/W at constant Re inlet condition, achieved with a pumping power of ۰.۱۰۲-۰.۱۲۶W.  Two and four inlet-outlet pair models with aspect ratio ۸.۶ have a thermal resistance of ۰.۰۶۹ and ۰.۰۶۷ C/W, for pumping powers ۲.۰۷۸ and ۴.۳۶۵ W respectively. The pressure drop of the proposed models is lower than the conventional microchannel arrays.

Keywords:

Micro-channel , Heat sink , Thermal Resistance , Hydraulic resistance , Reynolds number