Design and development of compact spiral ribbed cooling unit for electronic chipsets with high power densities

This paper presents the results of a set of numerical and experimental studies for flow and heat transfer in a spiral channel roughened by skew ribs over two opposite endwalls. The experimental Nusselt number (Nu) distributions, pressure drop coefficients (f) and thermal performance factors (η) for the spiral ribbed channel are examined along with the flow structures determined from the CFD analysis. The comparisons of Heat Transfer Enhancement (HTE) ratios measured from the ribbed spiral channel with other passive types of HTE devices confirm the favorable HTE performances for the spiral channel with the in-line skew ribs. A subsequent design and product development for the liquid cooling unit using the ribbed spiral channel is described with the pressure drops and thermal resistances presented. This study confirms the availability of the enhanced liquid cooling performance using the spiral ribbed channel for the electronic chipset(s) with higher power densities.