Influence of the zigzag fins and inlet arrangements on the cooling proficiency of the mini-channel heat sink

Abstract

Mini-channel heatsinks are one of the most effective thermal management methods for high heat flux devices due to the high performance of convective heat transfer. In recent years, various techniques have been innovated to improve the thermal proficiency of the mini-channel heatsinks. Some of these are taking advantage of fins' structural designs and arrangements of inlets and outlets. The zigzag fins and channels were considered in the previous works in heatsinks, and researchers analyzed their cooling enhancement effects. However, in the present work, a combined cooling technique, considering new-type zigzag fins’ geometrical parameters (arrangement, length, and height) causes turbulence flow and higher convective heat transfer along with different positionings of flow inlet and outlets resulting in superior temperature uniformity, is proposed to evaluate their impacts on the cooling proficiency of the heat sink versus different Reynolds numbers. To assess the thermal and hydraulic performance of the proposed heatsink, different parameters, including temperature contours, Nusselt numbers, thermal resistance, and entropy generation are investigated. As a result, it is observed that in the case demonstrating the best thermal performance, the Nusselt number, pressure drop, thermal resistance, and entropy generation are respectively 37.13, 4586.46 Pa, 0.000078 m²·K/W, and 0.1078 W/K in the best header. As well, it is found that by changing the arrangements of inlets and outlets, the Nusselt number, and thermal resistance are improved by 12% and 13%, respectively. Accordingly, the proposed mini-channel heat sink could be used as a high-performance thermal management system for electronic devices in different industries, including energy, solar, and medical sectors.