Determining the Thermal Effects of Channels on Porous Heat Sinks Under Forced Convection Conditions with Nanofluid: An Experimental and Numerical Study

Abstract

The present study determines the effects which foam metals and Nanofluid have on the performance of a simulated CPU. The present study employs yAl2O3-water Nanofluid and 6061- T6 Aluminum foam metal with a porosity of 0.91 and permeability of 40 pores per linear inch formed in bulk media and porously filled channels. The concentrations evaluated are 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.6% by volume. The study shall consider both original empirical results and numerical results obtained from COMSOL Multiphysics, showing good agreement with a maximum error of 4.3%. The present study. When considering the average Nusselt number as the representation of the strength of the heat transfer mechanism, and as such ignoring pumping requirements, it is shown that the use of porously filled channels interacting with 0.6% Nanofluid produces the most effective combination. However, when pumping power is relevant, a combination of bulk porous media interacting with 0.3% Nanofluid is observed. The results obtained herein can be applied to the cooling of electronics, or any other system wherein a general inward heat flux is applied.