Improving heat transfer performance in serpentine microchannel with carbon nanotube-embedded PVDF coating

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid coating on the heat transfer and hydraulic performance of serpentine microchannel heat sinks. In an aluminum serpentine microchannel heat sink using deionized water as the working fluid, the heat transfer performance and flow resistance were analyzed for different mass fluxes (G) in both PVDF-CNT coated (PSMC) and uncoated (TSMC) heat sinks under different heat flow densities. The results demonstrate that the PVDF-CNT coating enhances the heat transfer and hydraulic performance of the serpentine flow channel. Compared to the TSMC, the convective heat transfer coefficient of the PSMC increased by up to 61.9%, while the flow resistance coefficient decreased by up to 33.8%. The PVDF-CNT coating offers a superior balance of heat transfer performance and pressure drop compared to the addition of fins. A critical interval for the inlet mass flux G was identified, beyond which the heat transfer efficiency improvement of PSMC over TSMC was more pronounced.

Keywords

• Serpentine microchannel
• PVDF-CNT coating
• Hydrophobic surface
• Flow resistance
• Heat transfer