Numerical analysis of thermal and hydrothermal characteristics of a heat sink with various fin configurations and ternary nanofluid composition

Abstract

Effectively managing thermal conditions and controlling temperatures in electrical, electronic, and electrochemical devices has long been a challenge to their optimal operation and continual development. In recent decades, liquid-cooled heat sinks and enhancements in their heat dissipation capabilities have emerged as effective solutions. This study aims to improve hydrothermal efficiency and achieve better temperature uniformity within heat sinks. Various configurations of fins with innovative geometrical designs including a baseline case and cases 1 through 4 have been developed to analyze how these geometric parameters influence angled fin heat sink (AFHS) performance and temperature distribution. Each model's enhancement through hydrothermal methods is assessed against the baseline using a metric known as performance evaluation criteria (PEC). Case 2 at Re 1600 has 28.29 % more Nu than Re 1000. The Nu value of case 2 at Re 1200 increases by 14.72 % and 46.75 % compared to case 1 and the base case. Using pure water has shown that case 4 has the highest pressure drop compared to the other cases. case 4 at Re 1400 has a 30.82 % higher pressure drop than Re 1200. The pressure drops in case 4 at Re 1200 has increased by 367.89 Pa, 308.27 Pa, 215.92 Pa, and 45.18 Pa compared to the base case, case 1, case 2, and case 3. Additionally, the research evaluates the effects of a water-based ternary hybrid nanofluid (THNF) containing ZnO-GO-Al₂O₃ nanoparticles at different volume fractions compared to distilled water in the AFHS designed for optimal hydrothermal performance. The findings indicate that case 3 has better performance than the other cases. As a result, with changes in the fin arrangement of case 3, new configurations 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D were introduced. The results show that case 3C shows the best performance among all geometries. The distribution of temperature within the AFHS is significantly influenced by the effective heat transfer area and average heat transfer coefficient (HTC), with the system's pressure drop having a more substantial impact on the PEC than other functional and hydrothermal parameters. Furthermore, the PEC for the system utilizing a 6 % volume fraction of nanofluid decreased by nearly 50 % in comparison to the baseline (Case 3), while the PEC for systems incorporating nanofluids with volume fractions of 2 % and 4 % saw reductions of approximately 20 % and 35 %, respectively.