Numerical Investigation on Heat Sink Material for Temperature Control of Electronics

Abstract

This article reports a numerical investigation on advanced heat sink material for thermal management of electronics. We investigated heat transfer enhancement using different heat sink materials. The cooling medium used for analysis is water. Forced water convection in copper alloy and aluminum alloy Al6060, Al6063 material micro-channel heat sinks cooling was studied numerically using Ansys Fluent. The heat sink is an essential element in a PC. The total efficiency, price, and size of the electronic device depend on the heat sink material. The heat transfer rate is a direct function of heat sink material. The simulation used three different velocities, 3, 5, and 7 m/s; the constant heat flux value taken is 8 × 105 W/m2. The parameters considered for heat sink material are thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, density, and cost. The ceramic materials have a low thermal expansion coefficient and higher thermal conductivity hence used as a substrate. Results show that aluminum alloys are suitable materials for heat sinks because of their cost, weight, and ease of machinability.