Study of impact of nano fluids on performance of microchannel heat exchangers using CFD

Abstract

Addressing the critical issue of heat generation in electronic devices due to miniaturization and higher power density is essential. As electronic components become more compact, they generate more heat flux, necessitating efficient thermal management solutions. Traditional methods and fluids, such as water, struggle to meet the demand for efficient heat dissipation. To address this challenge, the utilization of nanofluids presents a promising solution. The objective of this study is to use CFD methods to examine how a nanofluid can improve heat transmission and lower the maximum temperature in a microchannel heatsink. This article presents the study of microchannel heatsinks with two distinct channel counts (five and eight). A constant flow, incompressible, laminar model was used to verify the findings. The working fluids used in the study were water in various concentrations, water-based nanofluids of Fe3O4-water and MWCNTs. CFD simulations revealed that a MWCNT-water nanofluid at 0.2 % concentration significantly improved cooling performance compared to water, demonstrating the potential of nanofluids for efficient thermal management in electronic devices.

Keywords

• Nanofluids
• Microchannel heat sinks
• Thermal conductivity
• Heat transfer coefficient
• Computational fluid dynamics
• Convective heat transfer