Numerical investigations of heat transfer augmentation in a microchannel heat sink with different shaped periodic reentrant cavities on channel sidewalls

Abstract

Microchannel heat sink is widely applied in high-density heat flux devices for its high efficiency in heat dissipation. However, the most effective geometrical configuration of microchannels for best heat transfer augmentation with least pump power penalty is still unknown. In this research, the heat transfer augmentation in a microchannel heat sink with different shaped periodic reentrant cavities on channel sidewalls are numerically studied. Three different kinds of channel structures are introduced, including convex quarter-circular, concave quarter-circular, and inclined shaped reentrant cavities. The comprehensive performances of the proposed microchannels are compared with that of the smooth straight channel, with respect to the pressure drop, friction coefficient, Nusselt number, and performance factor. The results indicate that the comprehensive performance of the microchannel heat sink with periodic reentrant cavities is superior to the smooth straight channel, because its reentrant cavities can strengthen the mixing of fluids and lower the pressure loss. The proposed microchannels can enhance the heat transfer by 1.7 times, reduce the pressure drop by 3.7%–22.4% at Re 648.2, with the heat transfer entropy production decreased by 15.9%–48.2%. The inclined shaped microchannel has the best overall performance factor among the three proposed channels, which achieves up to 1.59 at Re 648.2.