Numerical investigation of cooling enhancement in double-layer fractal-like microchannel disk heat sinks via layer shifting and tertiary channels
An effective approach for reducing the required pumping power in microchannel-embedded heat sinks is the use of fractal-like flow patterns. Additionally, incorporating double-layer microchannels significantly lowers pressure drop and improves thermal performance by reducing the maximum surface tempe...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Results in Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123025019656 |
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| Summary: | An effective approach for reducing the required pumping power in microchannel-embedded heat sinks is the use of fractal-like flow patterns. Additionally, incorporating double-layer microchannels significantly lowers pressure drop and improves thermal performance by reducing the maximum surface temperature. In this study, two design modifications are proposed for a four-level, double-layer fractal microchannel embedded in a disk-shaped heat sink: (1) angular shifting of the second layer relative to the first, and (2) the addition of tertiary microchannels in the second layer. The thermal and hydrodynamic performance of these enhanced designs is numerically evaluated and compared with single-layer and standard double-layer configurations under heat fluxes of 40, 60, and 80 W/cm² and inlet flow rates from 300 to 600 ml/min. While double layering effectively reduces pressure drop by redistributing the coolant flow, integrating tertiary microchannels leads to an additional ∼1.5 % drop due to reduced velocity and wall shear stress. The design combining angular shift and tertiary microchannels achieves the best thermal performance reducing the maximum temperature by up to 11.8 °C compared to the single-layer and up to 3.0 °C relative to the standard double-layer under high heat flux. It also improves temperature uniformity by 16.5 %, compared to 9.8 % for the simple double-layer. Angular shifting alone offers a modest reduction in thermal resistance; however, its combination with tertiary channels delivers substantial gains, significantly lowering thermal resistance. This proposed configuration provides a promising solution for compact and high-performance electronic cooling applications. |
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| ISSN: | 2590-1230 |