Thermal Resistance and Pressure Drop Minimization for a Micro-gap Heat Sink with Internal Micro-fins by Parametric Optimization of Operating Conditions

In recent years, researchers are investigating several potential applications of two-phase flow in micro-gap heat sinks; electronic cooling is one of them. Further, internal micro-fins are used to enhance the heat transfer rate. However, the pressure drop penalty due to small gap height and fin surfaces is a major concern. Hence, minimization of thermal resistance and pressure drop is required. In this paper, effects of operating conditions, e.g., wall heat flux, pumping power, and inlet void fraction, on total thermal resistance and pressure drop in a micro-gap heat sink with internal micro-fins of rectangular and triangular profiles have been investigated by numerical analysis for the R-134a coolant. Furthermore, optimization of these parameters has been carried out by response surface methodology. Simulation results show that rectangular micro-fins show superior performance compared to triangular fins in reducing thermal resistance. Finally, for an optimum condition (7.1202×10-5 W pumping power, 1.2×107 Wm-2 heat flux, and 0.03 inlet void fraction), thermal resistance and pressure drop are reduced by 56.3% and 87.2%, respectively.

Non-Destructive Possibilities of Thermal Performance Evaluation of the External Walls

Identification of the actual thermal properties of the partitions of building enclosures has a significant meaning in determining the actual energy consumption in buildings and in their thermal comfort parameters. In this context, the total thermal resistance of the exterior walls (and therefore their thermal transmittance) in the building is a major factor which influences its heat losses. There are many methods to determine the total thermal resistance of existing walls, including the quantitative thermography method (also used in this study). This paper presents a comparison of the calculated total thermal resistance values and the measured ones for three kinds of masonry walls without thermal insulation and the same walls insulated with expanded polystyrene boards. The measurements were carried out in quasi-stationary conditions in climate chambers. The following three test methods were used: the temperature-based method (TBM), the heat flow meter method (HFM) and the infrared thermography method (ITM). The measurement results have been found to be in good agreement with the theoretically calculated values: 61% of the measured values were within 10% difference from the mean value of total thermal resistance for a given external wall and 79% of the results were within 20% difference. All of the used measuring methods (TBM, HFM and ITM) have proven to be similarly approximate in obtained total thermal resistances, on average between 6% and 11% difference from the mean values. It has also been noted that, while performing measurements, close attention should be paid to certain aspects, because they can have a major influence on the quality of the result.

Borehole Thermal Analysis for a Closed Loop Vertical U-Tube DX Ground Heat Exchanger

The borehole geometry configuration and its sizing represent great challenges to the thermal equipment designer in the field of geothermal energy source. The present work represents a piece in that direction to avoid elaborate mathematical and computation schemes constraints for the preliminary design of the U-tube ground heat exchanger operates under a steady-state condition. A correlation was built for the prediction of the borehole thermal resistance. The U-tube diameter, leg spacing, borehole diameter, and the offset configuration with respect to the center of the borehole were introduced in the present correlation. An equivalent tube formula and borehole configuration were postulated to possess the same grout volume as the original loop. A variety of geometrical configurations were tested at different U-tube and borehole sizes. The predicted total thermal resistance of the borehole was implemented into the thermal design of the (DX) ground condenser to sizing the borehole U-tube heat exchanger. A hypothetical cooling unit of (1) ton of refrigeration that circulates R410A refrigerant was chosen for the verification of the present model outcomes. The predicted thermal resistance revealed an excellent agreement with other previously published work in this category.

Noncured Graphene Thermal Interface Materials for High-Power Electronics: Minimizing the Thermal Contact Resistance

We report on experimental investigation of thermal contact resistance, RC, of the noncuring graphene thermal interface materials with the surfaces characterized by different degree of roughness, Sq. It is found that the thermal contact resistance depends on the graphene loading, ξ, non-monotonically, achieving its minimum at the loading fraction of ξ ~15 wt %. Decreasing the surface roughness by Sq~1 μm results in approximately the factor of ×2 decrease in the thermal contact resistance for this graphene loading. The obtained dependences of the thermal conductivity, KTIM, thermal contact resistance, RC, and the total thermal resistance of the thermal interface material layer on ξ and Sq can be utilized for optimization of the loading fraction of graphene for specific materials and roughness of the connecting surfaces. Our results are important for the thermal management of high-power-density electronics implemented with diamond and other wide-band-gap semiconductors.

Thermal Simulation for a Mechanical Spindle With External Cooler Across Grease Coated Interface

Spindles in precision boring machine often work in low speed and heavy load without internal cooling, and the thermal error is nonnegligible. So an external cooling system was designed, and the effectiveness of the designed scheme needs to be preliminarily verified by simulation before building the cooling system. Thermal simulations of the spindle with an external cooler require calculating the thermal resistance of the thermal grease-coated interface between the cooler and spindle. Models describing the contact thermal resistance and total thermal resistance for metal contact filled with silicone grease based on solid-liquid interface force equivalence were described in this paper, and experiments were also conducted to verify the accuracy of these models. The contact thermal resistances between the cast iron/copper and silicone grease on flat or arc surfaces were calculated, and the bulk thermal resistance of the silicone grease layer was calculated. The total heat transferred between the cooler and the silicone grease-coated interface of the spindle were calculated. Heat transfer and heat generation in the spindle were calculated, and a finite element model was established to verify the effectiveness of the designed external cooling scheme. Finally, results from experiments for the spindle in different conditions show that the external cooling system decreases the time to reach thermal equilibrium by more than 60%. The RMSE of the simulated thermal elongation is less than 5.7044 μm when the rotating speed of 3000 rpm, and is less than 3.9714 μm when the rotating speed is 1500 rpm.

Heat Transfer Enhancement of Small-Diameter Two-Phase Closed Thermosyphon Using Cellulose Nanofiber and Hydrophilic Surface Modification

In this study, we observed the Geyser phenomenon that occurs in a small-diameter two-phase closed thermosyphon (confinement number of 0.245). This phenomenon interferes with the natural circulation of the internal working fluid and increases the thermal resistance of the system. This study attempts to improve the thermal performance of the system using cellulose nanofiber as the working fluid and hydrophilic surface modification at the inner surface of the evaporator section. As a result, the total thermal resistance showed average reduction rates of 47.51%, 36.69%, and 22.56% at filling ratios of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75, respectively.

ТЕРМІЧНИЙ ОПІР ХУТРЯНОГО ОДЯГУ

Improving the process of forecasting thermal protection of clothing by expanding the information base of thermophysical indicators of fur, namely its thermal resistance. Methodology. To achieve this goal, an experimental method has been applied to study the thermal resistance of clothes by indirectly measuring and simulating heat transfer of the human body with the environment at various temperatures without using a climate chamber.Results. The paper analyzes the existing information base for the thermophysical parameters of the fur of diff erent animals, as a result of which it was found that the available information is not suffi cient to predict the thermal protection of clothing. The subject of the study was selected fur animals that are in greatest demand among consumers in Ukraine. Experimental studies of the thermal conductivity of fur vests were carried out as a result of which their thermal resistance was determined. It has been established experimentally that the thermal resistance of the fur of a long-haired rabbit is 0,1 °C m 2 /W more than that of a red fox. As a result of experimental studies, it was found that the total thermal resistance of red fox fur and long-haired rabbit is in the range of 0,471 to 0,559 °C m 2 / W. For the fi rst time, the thermal resistance of vests made of long-haired rabbit and red fox fur was determined taking into account the anatomical reliefs of the human torso. The existing methodology for determining the thermal resistance of garments on the simulated thermal stand of a human torso (ITSHB) to determine the thermal resistance of fur products has been adapted. Practical signifi cance. Extension of information support for the process of forecasting the heat-shielding properties of fur clothing. Reducing material costs for researching the thermal resistance of fur products.

Experimental Characterization of Two-Phase Cooling of Power Electronics in Thermosiphon and Forced Convection Modes

In this paper, we present the results of an experimental study involving low thermal resistance cooling of high heat flux power electronics in a forced convection mode, as well as in a thermosiphon (buoyancy-driven) mode. The force-fed manifold microchannel cooling concept was utilized to substantially improve the cooling performance. In our design, the heat sink was integrated with the simulated heat source, through a single solder layer and substrate, thus reducing the total thermal resistance. The system was characterized and tested experimentally in two different configurations: the passive (buoyancy-driven) loop and the forced convection loop. Parametric studies were conducted to examine the role of different controlling parameters. It was demonstrated that the thermosiphon loop can handle heat fluxes in excess of 200 W/cm2 with a cooling thermal resistance of 0.225 (K cm2)/W for the novel cooling concept and moderate fluctuations in temperature. In the forced convection mode, a more uniform temperature distribution was achieved, while the heat removal performance was also substantially enhanced, with a corresponding heat flux capacity of up to 500 W/cm2 and a thermal resistance of 0.125 (K cm2)/W. A detailed characterization leading to these significant results, a comparison between the performance between the two configurations, and a flow visualization in both configurations are discussed in this paper.