Heat and fluid flow analysis of micro-porous heat sink for electronics cooling: Effect of porosities and pore densities
Adeel Arshad, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad İkhlaq, Muhammad Imran, Yuying Yan
Abstract
• Numerically studied the micro-porous heat sink under single-phase flow dynamics. • Porosity and pore density of micro-porous metal foam are varied within the ranges of 0.50 ≤ ε ≤ 0.90 and 10 ≤ PPI ≤ 50. • Heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics evaluated under varying flowing conditions of coolant. • The optimum ε = 0.50 and PPI = 30 are identified of micro-porous media with an enhancement of 396%. This investigation evaluates the hydrothermal efficiency of a micro-porous heat sink, utilizing water as a coolant and employing a single-phase model for analysis. The heat sink incorporates an aluminum metal foam as the micro-porous medium, with a focus on determining the optimal porosity (ε) and pore density ( PPI ) by examining variations within the ranges of 0.50 ≤ ε ≤ 0.90 and 10 ≤ PPI ≤ 50. This examination aims to delineate the effects of these variables on heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics. Assessment of thermal performance includes metrics such as log mean temperature difference ( LMTD ), average Nusselt number ( N u avg ), thermal resistance ( R th ), volumetric flow rate ( Q ), pumping power ( PP ), overall performance ( OP ), and performance evaluation criteria ( PEC ). Additionally, fluid flow characteristics are analyzed through the examination of thermal contours and flow streamlines. Findings indicate that reducing ε from 0.90 to 0.50 and PPI from 50 to 10 yields superior N u avg and diminished R th compared to conventional water-cooled micro-porous heat sinks. Notably, the most significant improvements in LMTD and R th 83.04% and 61.44%, respectively, are observed with ε = 0.50 and PPI = 30 at a pressure drop ( Δ p ) of 570 Pa. Consequently, ε = 0.50 and PPI = 30 are identified as the optimal parameters, achieving an enhancement of 396% compared to traditional non-porous heat sinks at the same pressure drop. This study recommends these parameters for achieving optimal thermohydraulic cooling performance in micro-porous, water-cooled heat sinks.