Thermal performance of finned heat pipe system for Central Processing Unit cooling

• Published in: Energy conversion and management 2020-08, Vol.218, p.112977, Article 112977
• Main Authors: Maalej, S., Zayoud, A., Abdelaziz, I., Saad, I., Zaghdoudi, M.C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Capillary limit; Central processing units; Cooling; Cooling systems; CPUs; Electronics cooling; Fins; Gravitation; Grooves; Heat; Heat pipes; Heat transfer; Pipes; Temperature distribution; Thermal resistance; Thermosyphons
• ISSN: 0196-8904; 1879-2227
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2020.112977

•A finned heat pipe system for CPU cooling is designed and manufactured.•Thermal performance of the cooling system is determined under different orientations.•Under favorable orientation, the system enables to dissipate up to 150 W with heat source temperature lower than 90 °C.•The cooling system is modeled, and the thermal performance is predicted. This study reports on the thermal performances of a finned air-cooled heat pipe system for CPU cooling. The cooling system includes an aluminum base, three grooved heat pipes, and fins. Experiments are carried out in order to determine the overall thermal resistance of the cooling system in different positions (horizontal, thermosyphon, and anti-gravity positions) under different heat loads. The tests indicate that the overall thermal resistance is the lowest for the thermosyphon position and it is hardly affected by the heat input power. If we consider that the safe operation of the CPU is under continuous junction temperature lower than 90 °C, the cooling system enables to remove heat powers as high as 150 W, 100 W, and 50 W for the thermosyphon, horizontal, and anti-gravity positions, respectively. Modeling of the cooling system allows for the determination of the temperature distribution. The comparison between the experimental temperatures along the heat pipes and those computed indicates a good agreement for heat loads that are lower than the capillary limit.