Effect of wall resistance on the total thermal resistance of a stacked microchannel heat sink

Abstract

This paper reports on the different modeling approach of the total thermal resistance in a microchannel heat sink (MCHS); with wall resistance and the frequently used fin model, in comparison with experimental results. For a single stack MCHS, the wall model caused more than 10% difference but it can be extended to a stacked MCHS while the fin model could not, due to the adiabatic top condition. The wall resistance model is idealized, assuming a 100% efficient convective heat transfer while in the fin model 70% was the maximum. Meanwhile, stacking showed that at a constant flow rate, the thermal resistance could be reduced by 3% for a double stack, while increasing beyond that will decrease the thermal performance of the MCHS. The study showed the limits of models used and possible stacking of a MCHS for improved heat removal capability.