Experimental and numerical simulation study of heat sinks with impingement flow at high Reynolds numbers

The heat transfer in confined air jet cooling for electronic cooling applications is studied experimentally and through simulations. Copper and aluminum heat sinks are studied at various air-flow rates. The case to ambient thermal resistance of the copper heat sink varied from 0.38-0.23°C/W (the Reynolds number varied from 45,000-105,000). The simulations predicted a higher thermal resistance, however the predicted resistance trend matched the experimental trend. The experimental thermal resistance of the aluminum heat sink varied from 0.48-0.34°C/W (the Reynolds number varied from 45,000-90,000). The resistance trend for both the copper and aluminum heat sinks indicates that the reduction in thermal resistance would be minimal with further increase in flow rate. Simulation results show that these heat sinks can be further optimized by varying the number and spacing of the pin fins.