Computational Analysis of Changing Wavelength on Bottom RIB and Side RIB Wavy Microchannel Heat Sinks

As the power capacity of microelectronics continues to increase while their volume and size decrease, many different on-chip methods including microchannel heat sinks (MCHS) are being explored to cool down the temperature of these electronics. Wavy MCHS have been proven to yield better heat transfer performance compared to straight MCHS, while only producing a slightly larger pressure drop. This study investigates the heat transfer performance of MCHS following a vertical wavy design and a horizontal wavy design with a varying wavelength along the flow direction that have the same cross-sectional area. The simulations show that vortices are produced along the channel in the peaks and troughs of the sinusoidal waves which creates mixing within the coolant to better dissipate the heat via convection. The vertical wavy design produces two long symmetrical vortices that travel along the side of the channel, while the horizontal wavy design produces a larger quantity of smaller vortices that form at the top, middle, and bottom of the channel. The results provide trends that the horizontal wavy design performs better than the straight and vertical wavy channel especially with a larger decrease in wavelength along the flow direction.