Microchannel Heat Sink for Heat Transfer Enhancement CFD Simulation

Microchannel Heat Sink: Heat Transfer Enhancement for Electronic Cooling Applications

Computational Analysis of Cylindrical Microchannel Heat Sink Using ANSYS Fluent

This training demonstrates a detailed thermal-hydraulic simulation of a cylindrical microchannel heat sink designed for electronic cooling applications. The analysis addresses the critical challenge of heat dissipation in compact electronic components through advanced microfluidic cooling technology.

Geometric Configuration and Simulation Strategy

The heat sink features 86 rectangular microchannels (hydraulic diameter: 560 micrometers) arranged circumferentially around a cylindrical core. The design incorporates a 5mm internal radius with 10mm thickness. By leveraging geometric symmetry and applying periodic boundary conditions, the simulation efficiently models a single representative segment of the complete structure, substantially reducing computational requirements while maintaining solution accuracy.

Meshing and Numerical Approach

The computational domain was discretized using a structured mesh containing 1.5 million elements, providing high-resolution capture of thermal gradients and flow behavior. The central core simulates an electronic component through a constant heat flux boundary condition (243,507 W/m²), while water enters the microchannels at 0.59 m/s and 297K.

Performance Evaluation and Visualization

The simulation generates comprehensive three-dimensional visualizations of pressure distributions, temperature fields, and velocity patterns within the microchannel flow passages. Additionally, two-dimensional temperature contours across three different cross-sections illustrate the thermal interaction between the solid structure and fluid regions.

Thermal Management Effectiveness

Results clearly demonstrate effective heat extraction from the solid structure, confirming the cooling capability of the microchannel design. The complete thermal profile is reconstructed through rotational transformation of the segment results, providing a comprehensive view of the heat sink's performance under operating conditions.

This analysis offers valuable insights for optimizing microchannel heat sink designs for next-generation electronic cooling applications where thermal management is critical for system reliability and performance.