Title :
Comparative study of fin geometries for heat sinks in natural convection
Author :
Bouknadel, Abdelhadi ; Rah, Imane ; El Omari, Hafsa ; El Omari, Hamid
Author_Institution :
Renewable Energy Lab., Hassan 1st Univ., Settat, Morocco
Abstract :
In this paper, we investigate the simulation of natural convection heat transfer of a power electronic component mounted on a heat sink. The heat dissipation is ensured by conduction from the base plate to a heat sink through the fins, and subsequently to the ambient air by convection. This work represents a comparative study of four heat sinks configurations having fins of various profiles adapted for dissipating heat by the use of finite element simulation. The four designs used in our simulation are: two types of parallel plate fins (model 1 and model 2), staggered pin fins which composed of circular and square fins, and a plate fin heat sink with some elliptical pins between plate fins. Each heat sink combination are tested by using Aluminum and Copper materials, and then compared with the Graphite-metal which have an excellent anisotropic thermal conductivity. Besides, the temperature distribution and thermal resistance of these heat sinks are compared and analyzed with a temperature input of 60°C. The objective is to determine the best shape of heat sink with a low mass and low thermal resistance. To select the optimum types of heat sinks, twelve models are compared under the same conditions. As result of our simulation, it is found that the Graphite-metal heat sink provides the lowest thermal resistance versus Copper and Aluminum. Furthermore, it appears that, when pin fins of heatsink are elliptical, the capability of heat dissipation is the best.
Keywords :
cooling; finite element analysis; graphite; heat sinks; natural convection; temperature distribution; thermal conductivity; thermal resistance; aluminum materials; anisotropic thermal conductivity; circular fins; copper materials; elliptical pins; finite element simulation; graphite-metal heat sink; heat dissipation; natural convection heat transfer; parallel plate fins; plate fin heat sink; power electronic component; square fins; staggered pin fins; temperature 60 degC; temperature distribution; thermal resistance; Aluminum; Copper; Graphite; Heat sinks; Heating; Thermal resistance; Graphite-metal; anisotropic; finite element simulation; heat dissipation; heat sink; natural convection; thermal resistance;
Conference_Titel :
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Conference (IRSEC), 2014 International
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-7335-4
DOI :
10.1109/IRSEC.2014.7059794