Numerical and experimental visualization of natural convection around a LED dissipator

Thermal management of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for lighting is essential to ensure better performance since 7%-85% of its injected power is converted into heat. To increase the heat transfer rate, a heat sink is used to facilitate the natural convection heat transfer phenomenon. Thus, visualization of thermal flow around its heat sink is a powerful technique for developing conceptual models. In this paper, we compare the numerical results found by simulation with Comsol Multiphysics® using a rectangular heat sink with experimental visualization of the natural convection obtained by Schlieren imaging technique and then processed by Matlab®. Results show that this optical technique can be a promising technology to quantify thermal properties of the light source.