Fluid flow characteristics and heat transfer performance in microchannel heat sinks: A review

Abstract

The hydraulic and thermal characteristics of fluid flow in microchannels have advanced applications for the thermal management of electronic devices. There has been a wide development in the field of research concerning experimental procedures as well as numerical analysis of fluid flow in microchannels over the past decade. This article provides an overview of overall experimental and numerical studies in recent years to obtain clear understanding of various parameters affecting the fluid flow and heat transfer performance in microchannels. Furthermore, the article will come in handy for the researchers and scientists dealing with the basic correlations and some dimensionless parameters governing the hydrodynamic as well as thermic behavior of fluid flow in microchannels. This article underlines the recent studies on nanofluids in this specific area; additionally, it has encapsulated the influence on thermal performance by numerous designs of MCHS such as fins, ribs, etc. The latest research has revealed that there is a little agreement over the literature provided by experimental and theoretical analyses. Eventually, the conclusions drawn from this study and future prospective of research in this area have been thoroughly discussed.