The Optimal Design of Heat Sinks: A Review

Abstract

Heat sinks are used in industrial equipment to dissipate the excess heat from their heat-generating parts to the ambient. In the last few years, efforts on manufacturing electronic or mechanical devices with less weight, space, and lower cost were spent. Heat dissipation from the heat sink is stalling a big problem which many researchers are trying to solve. The aim of this study is to brief the previous investigation attempted enhancing the heat sinks thermal performance and to provide help to understand the cooling ability of their specific geometries. The various enhancement techniques used for optimizing the hydrothermal design of a pin fin, flat fin, micro-channel, and topology optimized heat sinks were summarized. The way in which the heat sinks’ thermal performance is affected by orientation, shapes, perforation, slot, interruption, and space between fins and their arrangement under free and forced convection condition also reviewed.

Keywords

• heat sink
• optimal design
• pin and plate fin
• natural and forced convection