Thermal-hydraulic analysis and geometric optimization on a microchannel with stacked combinations of ribs and cavities

In order to effectively reduce the operating temperature of electronic devices and improve their working stability and service life, this study has designed the microchannel with stacked combinations of ribs and cavities. The thermal-hydraulic characteristics of microchannel with stacked combinations of cuboid cavities and various rib shapes (1/4 ellipsoid, triangular prism, 1/4 cylinder, trapezoidal prism, and cuboid) were investigated using numerical simulation. Subsequently, their comprehensive performance and energy saving effect were assessed. It is shown that the microchannel with stacked combinations of ribs and cavities not only increases the solid-liquid contact area, but also enhance the mixing efficiency between cold water in the channel center and hot water along the side walls. This improvement helps to reduce temperature and thermal resistance, leading to enhanced heat transfer within the microchannel. As a result, it exhibits excellent comprehensive performance and energy saving effects. When the relative rib width and height ratio of rib to cavity of microchannel with stacked combinations of cuboid cavity and cuboid rib are 0.733 and 0.765, respectively, the figure of merit reaches 2.23, which has high comprehensive performance.