Performance Comparison of a Microchannel Heat Sink Using Different Nano-Liquid Metal Fluid Coolant: A Numerical Study

Abstract

This paper presents performance comparison between different liquid metal based nanofluids termed as nano-liquid-metal-fluids in a microchannel heat sink in order to achieve ultimate cooling solutions without sacrificing the compact structure and heavy computing speed. The hydraulic and thermal performance of nanofluids having five different liquid metals (Ga, GaIn, EGaIn, GaSn, EGaInSn) as base fluid and four different nanoparticles (CNT, Al2O3, Cu, diamond) as solute are evaluated comparing with water based nanofluids. Three-dimensional flow inside miniaturized channels are predicted using single-phase and two-phase numerical simulations. Numerical models are validated against data obtained from experimental studies from literature. Three different grids are developed and several element sizes were compared to obtain the grid independence. Upon evaluation, the study can point out that liquid metal based nanofluids can generate much superior heat transport characteristics with more than 3.41 times higher heat transfer coefficient compared to conventional water based nanofluids. GaIn-CNT combination exhibits the best thermal solution possible with a heat transfer coefficient increment of 2.68%, 17.19%, 22.16%, 2.62% over CNT particle-based EGaIn, EGaInSn, Ga, GaSn liquid metal, respectively for Re = 750. Considering hydraulic performance, PEC (performance evaluation criterion) has been introduced and Ga based nanofluids are found to be most effective in this perspective. The effect on overall cooling effectiveness has also been carried out with a detailed particle concentration study. This study paves the pathway of using these extraordinary coolants in mini/micro channel heat sinks.

Numerical Simulation on Thermoelectric Cooling of Core Power Devices in Air Conditioning

“…However, these traditional heat dissipation solutions have the disadvantages of large volume and noise, making them difficult to apply to many precision instruments and electronic equipment. With the development of new heat dissipation technology, solutions have emerged such as water cooling [20] and liquid metal [21,22], as well as other phase change heat dissipation materials [23][24][25][26][27]. For example, a method that conducts heat from the chip to a thermal medium with a high specific heat capacity through heat pipes can take away the heat and ensure efficient temperature control of the chip [28][29][30][31].…”

Numerical Simulation on Thermoelectric Cooling of Core Power Devices in Air Conditioning

“…However, this heat dissipation solution has the disadvantages of large volume and noise. With the development of heat dissipation technology, new solutions have emerged such as water cooling [20] and liquid metal [21,22] and other phase change heat dissipation materials [23][24][25][26]. Through heat pipes that conduct heat from the chip to a thermal medium with high specific heat capacity, phase change process quickly takes away the heat so as to achieve efficient temperature control of the chip [27][28][29][30].…”