Copper-Carbon Nanotube Micropillars for Passive Thermal Management of High Heat Flux Electronic Devices

Author(s):  
Gerardo Rojo ◽  
Jeff Darabi

Abstract Miniaturization of electronic products and a consequent rapid increase in power density of advanced microprocessors and electronic components have created a need for improved cooling techniques to efficiently remove heat from such devices. Traditional air-cooled heat sinks have been utilized for several decades as the most cost-effective cooling technique for electronic cooling applications. However, the existing thermal management solutions are unable to maintain the temperature of the next generation of complex electronic systems within acceptable limits without adding considerable weight and complexity. This paper reports a microstructured wick for application in passive thermal management systems such as heat pipes and vapor chambers. The wick structure consists of mushroom-like composite copper-carbon nanotubes (Cu-CNT) micropillars. The small spacing between micropillar heads provides a higher capillary pressure whereas the large spacing between the base of micropillars provides a higher permeability for liquid flow. The micropillar array was fabricated on a copper substrate using an electroplating technique. The micropillar array was then tested in a controlled environment to experimentally measure its thermal performance under several operating conditions. A heat removal capability of 80 W/cm2 was demonstrated at a wall superheat of 15° C. In addition, a computational study was performed using ANSYS Fluent to predict the thermal performance of the micropillar array. Model predictions were compared with the experimental results and good agreement was obtained.

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1929 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sarafraz ◽  
Mohammad Safaei ◽  
Zhe Tian ◽  
Marjan Goodarzi ◽  
Enio Bandarra Filho ◽  
...  

In the present study, we report the results of the experiments conducted on the convective heat transfer of graphene nano-platelets dispersed in water-ethylene glycol. The graphene nano-suspension was employed as a coolant inside a micro-channel and heat-transfer coefficient (HTC) and pressure drop (PD) values of the system were reported at different operating conditions. The results demonstrated that the use of graphene nano-platelets can potentially augment the thermal conductivity of the working fluid by 32.1% (at wt. % = 0.3 at 60 °C). Likewise, GNP nano-suspension promoted the Brownian motion and thermophoresis effect, such that for the tests conducted within the mass fractions of 0.1%–0.3%, the HTC of the system was improved. However, a trade-off was identified between the PD value and the HTC. By assessing the thermal performance evaluation criteria (TPEC) of the system, it was identified that the thermal performance of the system increased by 21% despite a 12.1% augmentation in the PD value. Furthermore, with an increment in the fluid flow and heat-flux applied to the micro-channel, the HTC was augmented, showing the potential of the nano-suspension to be utilized in high heat-flux thermal applications.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6347
Author(s):  
Taha Baig ◽  
Zabdur Rehman ◽  
Hussain Ahmed Tariq ◽  
Shehryar Manzoor ◽  
Majid Ali ◽  
...  

Due to high heat flux generation inside microprocessors, water-cooled heat sinks have gained special attention. For the durability of the microprocessor, this generated flux should be effectively removed. The effective thermal management of high-processing devices is now becoming popular due to high heat flux generation. Heat removal plays a significant role in the longer operation and better performance of heat sinks. In this work, to tackle the heat generation issues, a slotted fin minichannel heat sink (SFMCHS) was investigated by modifying a conventional straight integral fin minichannel heat sink (SIFMCHS). SFMCHSs with fin spacings of 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 1.5 mm were numerically studied. The numerical results were then compared with SIFMCHSs present in the literature. The base temperatures recorded for two slots per fin minichannel heat sink (SPFMCHS), with 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 1.5 mm fin spacings, were 42.81 °C, 46.36 °C, and 48.86 °C, respectively, at 1 LPM. The reductions in base temperature achieved with two SPFMCHSs were 9.20 %, 8.74 %, and 7.39% for 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 1.5 mm fin spacings, respectively, as compared to SIFMCHSs reported in the literature. The reductions in base temperature noted for three SPFMCHSs were 8.53%, 9.05%, and 5.95% for 0.5 mm, 1 mm, and 1.5 mm fin spacings, respectively, at 1 LPM, as compared to SIFMCHSs reported in the literature. In terms of heat transfer performance, the base temperature and thermal resistance of the 0.5 mm-spaced SPFMCHS is better compared to 1 mm and 1.5 mm fin spacings. The uniform temperature distribution at the base of the heat sink was observed in all cases solved in current work.


Author(s):  
Gabriel B. Goodwin ◽  
Jesse R. Maxwell ◽  
Triem T. Hoang

As the electronics systems aboard air and spacecraft grow in scale and complexity, so too does the heat generated by those systems. A high-heat flux, compact, maintenance-free cooling system is required to meet the increased demand for heat removal. Loop heat pipes are robust and effective thermal management systems that are long-life and maintenance-free, making them ideal for use in unmanned spacecraft. Integrating a mechanical pump into a loop heat pipe system can drastically improve the system’s heat removal capacity through increased mass flowrate. Like loop heat pipes, magnetically-driven bearingless pumps are also maintenance-free, which is a necessity in the space environment. This work details the modeling of a low-flowrate, magnetically-driven bearingless centrifugal pump and a computational fluid dynamics study of the pump’s operation and performance under a range of conditions that are typical to the demands of a satellite thermal management system. The purpose of this computational study is to investigate the failure mechanism of a bench-test unit that was unable to generate a pressure head with its intended working fluid of ammonia. Model development, validation, and pump performance with multiple working fluids are discussed. The cause of the pump’s failure is investigated.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomio Okawa ◽  
Junki Ohashi ◽  
Ryo Hirata ◽  
Koji Enoki

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abas Abdoli ◽  
George S. Dulikravich ◽  
Genesis Vasquez ◽  
Siavash Rastkar

Two-layer single phase flow microchannels were studied for cooling of electronic chips with a hot spot. A chip with 2.45 × 2.45 mm footprint and a hot spot of 0.5 × 0.5 mm in its center was studied in this research. Two different cases were simulated in which heat fluxes of 1500 W cm−2 and 2000 W cm−2 were applied at the hot spot. Heat flux of 1000 W cm−2 was applied on the rest of the chip. Each microchannel layer had 20 channels with an aspect ratio of 4:1. Direction of the second microchannel layer was rotated 90 deg with respect to the first layer. Fully three-dimensional (3D) conjugate heat transfer analysis was performed to study the heat removal capacity of the proposed two-layer microchannel cooling design for high heat flux chips. In the next step, a linear stress analysis was performed to investigate the effects of thermal stresses applied to the microchannel cooling design due to variations of temperature field. Results showed that two-layer microchannel configuration was capable of removing heat from high heat flux chips with a hot spot.


Author(s):  
James D. Heidmann ◽  
David L. Rigby ◽  
Ali A. Ameri

A three-dimensional Navier-Stokes simulation has been performed for a realistic film-cooled turbine vane using the LeRC-HT code. The simulation includes the flow regions inside the coolant plena and film cooling holes in addition to the external flow. The vane is the subject of an upcoming NASA Lewis Research Center experiment and has both circular cross-section and shaped film cooling holes. This complex geometry is modeled using a multi-block grid which accurately discretizes the actual vane geometry including shaped holes. The simulation matches operating conditions for the planned experiment and assumes periodicity in the spanwise direction on the scale of one pitch of the film cooling hole pattern. Two computations were performed for different isothermal wall temperatures, allowing independent determination of heat transfer coefficients and film effectiveness values. The results indicate separate localized regions of high heat flux in the showerhead region due to low film effectiveness and high heat transfer coefficient values, while the shaped holes provide a reduction in heat flux through both parameters. Hole exit data indicate rather simple skewed profiles for the round holes, but complex profiles for the shaped holes with mass fluxes skewed strongly toward their leading edges.


2005 ◽  
Vol 127 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Bergles ◽  
S. G. Kandlikar

The critical heat flux (CHF) limit is an important consideration in the design of most flow boiling systems. Before the use of microchannels under saturated flow boiling conditions becomes widely accepted in cooling of high-heat-flux devices, such as electronics and laser diodes, it is essential to have a clear understanding of the CHF mechanism. This must be coupled with an extensive database covering a wide range of fluids, channel configurations, and operating conditions. The experiments required to obtain this information pose unique challenges. Among other issues, flow distribution among parallel channels, conjugate effects, and instrumentation need to be considered. An examination of the limited CHF data indicates that CHF in parallel microchannels seems to be the result of either an upstream compressible volume instability or an excursive instability rather than the conventional dryout mechanism. It is expected that the CHF in parallel microchannels would be higher if the flow is stabilized by an orifice at the entrance of each channel. The nature of CHF in microchannels is thus different than anticipated, but recent advances in microelectronic fabrication may make it possible to realize the higher power levels.


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