Heat transfer enhancement using nanofluids (Al2O3-H2O) in mini-channel heatsinks

• Published in: International journal of heat and mass transfer 2018-05, Vol.120, p.671-682
• Main Authors: Saeed, Muhammad, Kim, Man-Hoe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum oxide; Computation; Configurations; Convective heat transfer; Distilled water; Electronic cooling; Flow velocity; Heat sinks; Heat transfer; Heat transfer coefficients; Heat transfer enhancement; Hydraulics; Mathematical models; Microelectronics; Mini-channel heatsink; Nanofluids; Numerical prediction; Thermal resistance
• ISSN: 0017-9310; 1879-2189
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2017.12.075

•Heat transfer enhancement using nanofluids for electronic cooling applications.•Prediction of thermal and hydraulic performance of mini-channel heatsinks using nanofluid.•Comparison of experimental results with single phase and two phase numerical models.•Effect of channel geometry on the heat transfer enhancement using nanofluid. This paper presents the heat transfer enhancement characteristics using nanofluid Al2O3-H2O as a coolant in mini-channel heatsinks. Heatsinks with three different channel configuration were fabricated and tested for their heat transfer characteristics using nanofluids with two different volume concentrations and distilled water. Effects of channel configuration, coolant flow rate and volume concentration on the convective heat transfer coefficient, base temperature, thermal resistance, and heat transfer enhancement ratio have been reported. Moreover, the thermal and hydraulic performance of mini-channel heat sinks with four different channel configurations has been computed numerically using single phase and two-phase models. Computed results of convective heat transfer coefficient from both single and two-phase models were then compared with experimental results. Results revealed that the convective heat transfer coefficient enhances significantly by using nanofluids in comparison with distilled water. Moreover, predictions of two-phase mixture model were found in close agreement with an experimental model while single phase numerical model was found to have under predicted values of convective heat transfer coefficient.