L- and U-shaped heat pipes thermal modules with twin fans for cooling of electronic system under variable heat source areas

This study utilizes a versatile superposition method with thermal resistance network analysis to design and experiment on a thermal module with embedded six L-shaped or two U-shaped heat pipes and plate fins under different fan speeds and heat source areas. This type of heat pipes-heat sink module successively transfer heat capacity from a heat source to the heat pipes, the heat sink and their surroundings, and are suitable for cooling electronic systems via forced convection mechanism. The thermal resistances contain all major components from the thermal interface through the heat pipes and fins. Thermal performance testing shows that the lowest thermal resistances of the representative L- and U-shaped heat pipes-heat sink thermal modules are respectively 0.25 and 0.17 °C/W under twin fans of 3,000 RPM and 30 × 30 mm² heat sources. The result of this work is a useful thermal management method to facilitate rapid analysis.     

Inverse determination of the heat transfer characteristics on a circular plane fin in a finned-tube bundle

In this work, we present the numerical results of the average heat transfer coefficients, $ \overline{{h_{\varphi } }} $ , over a circular plane fin in a finned-tube bundle for both aligned and staggered arrangements as well as the fin efficiency and the heat flux dissipated from the whole fin. The study covers a wide range of Reynolds number (2 × 10³–3 × 10⁴), for three different positions of the finned tube inside the heat exchanger. The temperature distribution on the fins surfaces was obtained experimentally using infrared thermography technique. The predicted values of the heat transfer coefficient were obtained numerically using the finite element method in conjunction with the conjugate gradient algorithm and the measured temperatures.     

Experimental study of convective heat transfer from a rotating finned tube in transverse air flow

 The convective heat transfer from fins to air has been evaluated using rotating annular fins subjected to an air flow parallel to the fins. The fin cooling is studied using infrared thermography. The thermal balance in a fin during its cooling process allows us to obtain the heat transfer coefficient from the temperature time evolution of the fin. Moreover, Particle Image Velocimetry allows us to obtain the flow field in the mid-plane between two fins. The influence of the fin spacing on the convective heat transfer is studied for various velocities of the superposed air flow and various fin rotational speeds. These tests were carried out for air flow Reynolds numbers (based on the shaft diameter and the velocity of the superposed air flow) between 2550 and 18200 and rotational Reynolds numbers (based on the shaft diameter and the peripheral speed) between 800 and 2.9 × 10⁴, for different fin spacings. Received: 14 May 1999/Accepted: 8 October 1999     

Numerical analysis of turbulent convection heat transfer from an array of perforated fins

Numerical investigation is made for three-dimensional fluid flow and convective heat transfer from an array of solid and perforated fins that are mounted on a flat plate. Incompressible air as working fluid is modeled using Navier–Stokes equations and RNG based k ? ? turbulent model is used to predict turbulent flow parameters. Temperature field inside the fins is obtained by solving Fourier’s conduction equation. The conjugate differential equations for both solid and gas phase are solved simultaneously by finite volume procedure using SIMPLE algorithm. Perforations such as small channels with square cross section are arranged streamwise along the fin’s length and their numbers varied from 1 to 3. Flow and heat transfer characteristics are presented for Reynolds numbers from 2 × 10⁴ to 4 × 10⁴ based on the fin length and Prandtl number is taken Pr = 0.71. Numerical computations are validated with experimental studies of the previous investigators and good agreements were observed. Results show that fins with longitudinal pores, have remarkable heat transfer enhancement in addition to the considerable reduction in weight by comparison with solid fins.     

Experimental investigation of flow and heat transfer in rectangular cross-sectioned duct with baffles mounted on the bottom surface with different inclination angles

In this study, steady-state forced convection heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in a horizontal rectangular cross-sectioned duct, baffles mounted on the bottom surface with different inclination angles were investigated experimentally in the Reynolds number range from 1 × 10³ to 1 × 10⁴. The study was performed under turbulent flow conditions. Effects of different baffle inclination angles on flow and heat transfer were studied. Results are also presented in terms of thermal enhancement factor. It is observed that increasing in baffle inclination angle enhances the heat transfer and causes an increase in pressure drop in the duct.     

Experimental study on the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of tubes with internal wave-like longitudinal fins

Experiments were performed to determine the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in the entrance and fully developed regions of tubes with internal wave-like longitudinal fins. The test tube has a double-pipe structure, with the inner tube as an insertion. The wave-like fins are in the annulus and span its full width. Experiments were conducted for two cases: one with the inner tube blocked (no air flowing through it) and the other with the inner tube unblocked. The outer tube was electrically heated. Local and average heat transfer coefficients and friction factors were measured. The friction factor and Nusselt number correlations in the fully developed region were obtained in the Reynolds number range of 9×10² to 3.5×10³. It has been found that the wave-like fins enhance heat transfer significantly with the blocked case being superior. In addition, the in-tube heat transfer process is characterized by an earlier transition from laminar to turbulent flow and Reynolds number-dependent thermal entrance length. Received on 12 May 1998     

Experimental and numerical study of turbulent flow and heat transfer inside hexagonal duct

Flow and heat transfer characteristics in transition and turbulent regions are studied experimentally and numerically in a horizontal smooth regular hexagonal duct under constant wall temperature boundary condition covering a range of Reynolds number from 2.3 × 10³ to 52 × 10³. Two types of k-omega (standard and shear stress transport (SST)) and three types of k-ε (standard, renormalization (RNG), and realizable) turbulence model are employed for transition and turbulent regions, respectively. Both average and fully developed Darcy friction factor and Nusselt number are presented as a function of Reynolds number. It is seen that k-omega SST and k-ε realizable turbulence models gave the best agreement with the experimental data in transition and turbulent regions, respectively. All the experimental results are correlated within an accuracy of ±13 % and ±7 % for Nusselt number and Darcy friction factor, respectively. Results obtained in this study are compared with circular duct results using hydraulic diameter.     

Forced convective heat transfer enhancement with perforated pin fins

Increasing miniaturization of high speed multi-functional electronics demands ever more stringent thermal management. The present work investigates experimentally and numerically the use of staggered perforated pin fins to enhance the rate of heat transfer in these devices. In particular, the effects of the number of perforations and the diameter of perforation on each pin are studied. The results show that the Nusselt number for the perforated pins is 45 % higher than that for the conventional solid pins and it increases with the number of perforation. Pressure drop with perforated pins is also reduced by 18 % when compared with that for solid pins. Perforations produce recirculations in the x–y as well as the x–z planes downstream of the pins which effectively increase convective heat transfer. However, thermal dissipation decreases significantly when the ratio of pin diameter to perforation diameter exceeds 0.375. This is due to both a reduction in the number of perforation per pin and the decrease in the axial heat conduction along the pin.     

Experimental investigation of the Cu/R141b nanofluids on the evaporation/boiling heat transfer characteristics for surface with capillary micro-channels

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the heat transfer characteristic of a vertical copper plate with rectangular micro-channels. In this research, Cu/R141b nanofluids were used as the working fluid. Three different volume concentrations—0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 %—of Cu nanoparticles with an average diameter of 20 nm dispersed in R141b were prepared. Experiments were performed to measure thermal resistance of the microchannel surface under a steady operating pressure range of 0.86 × 10⁵ Pa to 2 × 10⁵ Pa. Thermal resistance weakened with addition of nanoparticles into the base fluid. The maximum reduction effect of the thermal resistance was 50 %, which corresponds to 0.01 % volume concentration of nanofluid at low operating pressure. The operating pressure significantly affects thermal performance of the microchannel surface. This paper also studied heat transfer characteristics for a Cu nanoparticle-coated surface with rectangular microchannels, which were produced by heating in different volume concentrations from 0.001 to 0.1 %. Nanoparticle layer on the micro-channel surface is responsible for enhanced heat transfer of nanofluids with 0.001 and 0.01 % volume concentrations.     

Constructal multi-scale structure of PCM-based heat sinks

This paper inquires the effectiveness of a PCM-based heat sink as a reliable solution to portable electronic devices. This sink is composed of a PCM with low thermal conductivity and fins to boost its conductivity. The optimization is subjected to fixed heat sink volume filled with PCM between vertical equidistant fins. New fins are installed in the unheated space existing in each enclosure which is not involved in thermal distribution from vertical fins to the PCM. Based on the same principle, new fins generations are augmented stepwise to the multi-scale structure. The steps of adding fins will continue up to the point that the objective function reaches its maximal value, i.e., maximizing the longest safe operation time without allowing the electronics to reach the critical temperature. The results indicate that in each length of the enclosure, the optimum volume fraction and the best fins distance values exist in which the heat sink performance becomes maximum, and adding more fins lowers the performance of the heat sink. Increasing the enclosure’s length by \(2^{n}\) does not change them. For an enclosure with constant length, the optimal number of steps for adding fins within the enclosure is a function of the fin thickness. The results indicate that increasing the thickness changes the optimal number of adding fins inside the enclosure (normally a decrease). As the fin thickness is lowered, there will be a higher effect by adding vertical fins in the enclosure. Numerical simulations cover the Rayleigh number range \(2\times 10^{5}\le \hbox {Ra}_{\mathrm{H}} \le 2.7\times 10^{8}\), where H is the heat sink height.     

Performance analysis and design optimization of micro-jet impingement heat sink

This study evaluated a silicon-based micro-jet impingement heat sink for electronic cooling applications. First, the pressure-drop and thermal characteristics were investigated for steady incompressible and laminar flow by solving three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations, and the performance enhancement was carried out through parametric and optimization studies. Several parallel and staggered micro-jet configurations consisting of a maximum of 16 jet impingements were tested. The effectiveness of the micro-jet configurations, i.e. inline 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 4 × 4 jets, and staggered 5-jet and 13-jet arrays with nozzle diameters 50, 76, and 100 μm, were analyzed at various flow rates for the maximum temperature-rise and pressure-drop characteristics. A design with a staggered 13-jet array showed the best performance among the various configurations investigated in the present study. The design optimization based on three-dimensional numerical analysis, surrogate modeling and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm were carried out to understand the thermal resistance and pumping power correlation of the micro-jet impingement heat sink. Two design variables, the ratio of height of the channel and nozzle diameter, and the ratio of nozzle diameter and interjet spacing, were chosen for design optimization. The global Pareto-optimal front was achieved for overall thermal resistance and required pumping power of the heat sink. The Pareto-optimal front revealed existing correlation between pumping power and thermal resistance of the heat sink. Of the range of Pareto-optimal designs available, some representative designs were selected and their functional relationships among the objective functions and design variables were examined to understand the Pareto-optimal sensitivity and optimal design space. A minimum of 66 °C of maximum-temperature-rise was obtained for a heat flux of 100 W/cm² at a pressure drop of about 24 kPa.     

Natural convection heat transfer in a uniformly heated horizontal pipe

Natural convection heat transfers inside horizontal pipes were measured. The Rayleigh numbers were varied from 6.8 × 10⁸ to 1.5 × 10¹², while the Prandtl number was fixed at 2,094. Based on the analogy concept, a copper sulfate electroplating system was adopted to measure mass transfer rates in place of heat transfer rates. Test results using single-piece electrodes were in good agreement with the work of Sarac and Korkut. The angle-dependent mass transfer rates, measured using piecewise electrodes, were compared with the results of studies on natural convection in concentric annuli, and showed similar trends. The experiments were expanded to the turbulent region, and a transition criterion was proposed. Angle-dependent natural convection heat transfer correlations for the laminar and turbulent regions were derived.     

Concurrent calorimetric and interferometric studies of steady-state natural convection from miniaturized horizontal single plate-fin systems and plate-fin arrays

Concurrent calorimetric and interferometric studies have been conducted to investigate the effect that reduction of the base-plate dimensions has on the steady-state performance of the rate of natural convection heat transfer from miniaturized horizontal single plate-fin systems and plate-fin arrays. The effect was studied through comparison of the present results with those of earlier relevant calorimetric, interferometric, or numerical studies. Results shown that a reduction of the base-plate area by 74% increased natural convection coefficient by 1.5 times to 26.0 W m^?2 K^?1 for single fin systems and by 1.8 times to 18 W m^?2 K^?1 for fin arrays in the range of the base-plate temperature excess of 20–50°C. A simple correlation for the Nusselt number of miniaturized horizontal plate-fin arrays is proposed in the range of Rayleigh number divided by the number of fins to the 2.7 power from 2 × 10 to 5 × 10⁵.     

Heat transfer and flow around a circular cylinder with tripping-wires

An experimental study was conducted on the heat transfer under the condition of constant heat flux and the flow around a circular cylinder with tripping-wires, which were affixed at ± 65° from the forward stagnation point on the cylinder surface. The testing fluid was air and the Reynolds number Red, based on the cylinder diameter, ranged from 1.2 × 10⁴ to 5.2×10⁴. Especially investigated are the interactions between the heat transfer and the flow in the critical flow state, in relation to the static pressure distribution along the cylinder surface and the mean and turbulent fluctuating velocities in the wake. It is found that the heat transfer from the cylinder to the cross flow is in very close connection with the width of near wake.     

Three-dimensional numerical investigation of heat transfer for plate fin heat exchangers

In the present study, the potential of rectangular fins with 30° and 90° angle and 10 mm offset from the horizontal direction for heat transfer enhancement in a plate fin heat exchanger is numerically evaluated with conjugated heat transfer approach. The rectangular fins are mounted on the flat plate channel. The numerical computations are performed by solving a steady, three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equation and an energy equation by using Fluent software program. Air is taken as working fluid. The study is carried out at Re = 400 and inlet temperatures, velocities of cold and hot air are fixed as 300, 600 K and 1.338, 0.69 m/s, respectively. Colburn factor j versus Re design data is presented by using Fluent. The results show that the heat transfer is increased by 10 % at the exit of channel with fin angle of 30° when compared to channel without fin for counter flow. The heat transfer enhancement with fins of 30° and 90° for different values of Reynolds number with 300, 500 and 800 and for varying fin heights, fin intervals and also temperature distributions of fluids on the top and bottom surface of the channel are investigated for parallel and counter flow.     

Convective heat loss of water in a circular pipe cooled at constant rate

A numerical study is made of the heat loss by natural convection of water within a horizontal circular cylinder with wall temperature decreasing at a constant rate. The particular situation of water with maximum density at 4 °C is formulated in dimensionless relations based on a linear relationship between the water thermal expansion coefficient and the temperature. Such an approach leads to an exhaustive solution in terms of a non linear Rayleigh number. The link is also established with the standard situation where the hypothesis of a linear relationship between density and temperature is applicable. In particular it is shown that the quasi steady state results obtained for a standard situation become equilibrium curves to which the system tends with increasing difference between the temperature of the boundary and 4 °C. A complete numerical solution is obtained for non linear Rayleigh numbers ranging between 0 and 10⁷. Previous numerical and experimental results on the horizontal circular cylinder are also discussed and recast in terms of the present dimensional approach.     

Effects of temperature-dependence of viscosity and viscous dissipation on laminar flow heat transfer in circular tubes

Heat transfer effects of variable viscosity and viscous dissipation for heated developing laminar flows in circular tubes have been investigated. Three studies are reported covering a comprehensive range of input data for the case of constant wall heat flux. Initially the program was used to predict the effect on heat transfer of temperature-dependent viscosity via a general temperature power relation. In addition, predictions were made for nine particular fluids covering a range of Prandtl numbers from 0.025 to 12 500, and a range of Brinkman numbers from 1.8 × 10^?10 to 6.8 × 10³. A more detailed study was made for two particular oils covering a range of practical interest. For the liquids considered their viscosity temperature-dependence resulted in enhancement of heat transfer, whereas for fluids with a Prandtl number <200 the effect of viscous dissipation was negligible, and for fluids of a Brinkman number > × 10^?2 the outcome was a reduction of heat transfer. A numerical instability problem occurred for situations of very high viscous dissipation which limited the length of duct that could be examined.     

Intensity of convective mass/heat transfer in a rotary regenerator rotor with the transverse needle-fins

A forced convective mass transfer coefficient was electrochemically measured for a cylindrical bundle of transverse needle-fins ?1 × 10.9, applied as the rotor porous matrix of a rotary heat regenerator. The baffle inside the rotor was present. The technique based on the ferricyanide–ferrocyanide redox reaction controlled at the cathode, in the presence of a sodium hydroxide based electrolyte, was used in this experiment. A set of the six neighbouring fins, connected in parallel, was the cathode. The distribution of the mass transfer coefficient according to different static rotor angle position and the mean mass transfer Chilton–Colburn coefficient correlation j _M  = j _M (Re) for rotation numbers, Ro: 0, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.0 were stated in the mean Reynolds number, Re, range 180–985. The comparison was made between the convective heat fluxes of the pin-fins and the sheet rotor, for Ro = 0.     

Study of dynamic structure and heat and mass transfer of a vertical ceramic tiles dryer using CFD simulations

In this study, we developed a two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to simulate dynamic structure and heat and mass transfer of a vertical ceramic tiles dryer (EVA 702). The carrier’s motion imposed the choice of a dynamic mesh based on two methods: “spring based smoothing” and “local remeshing”. The dryer airflow is considered as turbulent (Re = 1.09 × 10⁵ at the dryer inlet), therefore the Re-Normalization Group $k - \in$ model with Enhanced Wall Treatment was used as a turbulence model. The resolution of the governing equation was performed with Fluent 6.3 whose capacities do not allow the direct resolution of drying problems. Thus, a user defined scalar equation was inserted in the CFD code to model moisture content diffusion into tiles. User-defined functions were implemented to define carriers’ motion, thermo-physical properties… etc. We adopted also a “two-step” simulation method: in the first step, we follow the heat transfer coefficient evolution (H_c). In the second step, we determine the mass transfer coefficient (H_m) and the features fields of drying air and ceramic tiles. The found results in mixed convection mode (Fr = 5.39 at the dryer inlet) were used to describe dynamic and thermal fields of airflow and heat and mass transfer close to the ceramic tiles. The response of ceramic tiles to heat and mass transfer was studied based on Biot numbers. The evolutions of averages temperature and moisture content of ceramic tiles were analyzed. Lastly, comparison between experimental and numerical results showed a good agreement.     

Heat transfer characteristics of staggered wing-shaped tubes bundle at different angles of attack

An experimental and numerical study has been conducted to clarify heat transfer characteristics and effectiveness of a cross-flow heat exchanger employing staggered wing-shaped tubes at different angels of attack. The water-side Re_w and the air-side Re_a were at 5 × 10² and at from 1.8 × 10³ to 9.7 × 10³, respectively. The tubes arrangements were employed with various angles of attack θ_1,2,3 from 0° to 330° at the considered Re_a range. Correlation of Nu, St, as well as the heat transfer per unit pumping power (ε) in terms of Re_a and design parameters for the studied bundle were presented. The temperature fields around the staggered wing-shaped tubes bundle were predicted by using commercial CFD FLUENT 6.3.26 software package. Results indicated that the heat transfer increased with the angle of attack in the range from 0° to 45°, while the opposite was true for angles of attack from 135° to 180°. The best thermal performance and hence the efficiency η of studied bundle occurred at the lowest Re_a and/or zero angle of attack. Comparisons between the experimental and numerical results of the present study and those, previously, obtained for similar available studies showed good agreements.