Three-dimensional transient CFD modeling of multiple finned aluminum foam heat sinks in a horizontal channel

Abstract

Finned metal foam heat sinks are well-known because of their excellent performance in cooling of powered electronics. In this study, three-dimensional transient numerical simulations of finned aluminum foam heat sinks in a forced convection of air were carried out using commercial COMSOL. The geometry under consideration consists of an array of finned aluminum foam heat sinks mounted on heater blocks and placed on a plate in a horizontal channel. Heat sink aluminum foam regions were considered as porous media with a local non-equilibrium thermal model to evaluate thermal characteristics, while the Forchheimer-Brinkman extended Darcy model is considered for the flow analysis. Our main concern in the present study is to evaluate the transient thermal–hydraulic behavior and the cooling performance under constant flux heat sources while varying the Reynolds number and variable morphological parameters of the aluminum foam, i.e., porosity (ε) varied from 0.85 to 0.95. The thermal performance ratio and the average Nusselt number of the finned aluminum foam heat sinks are 23.14% and 30%, respectively, larger than the finned aluminum heat sinks. As the Reynolds number increases, the thermal characteristics are enhanced, and the pressure drop is increased. An increase in porosity causes a reduction in heat transfer rate and an elevation of pressure drop.

Keywords

• Finned aluminum foam heat sinks
• Cooling electronics
• Numerical simulation
• Forchheimer-Brinkman extended Darcy model
• Forced convection