Published in:
D. Liu and S. V. Garimella, “Analysis and Optimization of the Thermal Performance of Microchannel Heat Sinks,” International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat and Fluid Flow, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 7-26, 2005.
Abstract
Purpose – To provide modeling approaches of increasing levels of complexity for the analysis of
convective heat transfer in microchannels which offer adequate descriptions of the thermal
performance, while allowing easier manipulation of microchannel geometries for the purpose of design
optimization of microchannel heat sinks.
Design/methodology/approach – A detailed computational fluid dynamics model is first used to
obtain baseline results against which five approximate analytical approaches are compared. These
approaches include a 1D resistance model, a fin approach, two fin-liquid coupled models, and a porous
medium approach. A modified thermal boundary condition is proposed to correctly characterize the
heat flux distribution.
Findings – The results obtained demonstrate that the models developed offer sufficiently accurate
predictions for practical designs, while at the same time being quite straightforward to use.
Research limitations/implications – The analysis is based on a single microchannel, while in a
practical microchannel heat sink, multiple channels are employed in parallel. Therefore, the
optimization should take into account the impact of inlet/outlet headers. Also, a prescribed pumping
power may be used as the design constraint, instead of pressure head.
Practical implications – Very useful design methodologies for practical design of microchannel
heat sinks.
Originality/value – Closed-form solutions from five analytical models are derived in a format that
can be easily implemented in optimization procedures for minimizing the thermal resistance of
microchannel heat sinks.
Keywords
Optimization techniques, Heat transfer, Convection
Date of this Version
January 2005