Multiwalled carbon nanotube nanofluid for thermal management of high heat generating computer processor

Abstract

Minichannel heat sink geometries with varying fin spacing were tested with de-ionized water and MWCNT (1 wt %) nanofluid to evaluate their performance with flow components of a liquid cooling kit. Four heat sinks with fin spacing of 0.2mm, 0.5mm, 1.0mm, and 1.5mm were used in this investigation. Heat sink base temperature was analogous to processor operating temperature which was the prime parameter of interest in this investigation. The base temperature decreased by reducing the fin spacing and using multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanofluid. The lowest value of heat sink base temperature recorded was 49.7°C at a heater power of 255W by using a heat sink of 0.2mm fin spacing and MWCNT nanofluid as a coolant. Moreover, as a result of reduced fin spacing and using MWCNT nanofluid as a coolant the value of overall heat transfer coefficient increased from 1200 W/m2K to 1498 W/m2K, translating to about a 15% increase. The value of thermal resistance also dropped by reducing the fin spacing and using MWCNT nanofluid. The most important aspect of the study is that the heat sinks and MWCNT nanofluid proved to be compatible with the pump and radiator of the commercial CPU liquid cooling kit. The pump was capable to handle the pressure drop which resulted by reducing the heat sink fin spacing and by using MWCNT nanofluid.