Computational Tools for Engineers -21CTE408 SJEC-AICTE IDEA Lab

STEADY STATE THERMAL ANALYSIS OF HEAT SINK WITH FINS

DIFFERENT GEOMETRY
Advith.AJ, Abhishikth B Kunder, Sushma M, Abhishek M, Akarsh GB
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, St Joseph Engineering college, Mangaluru,
Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT
In the realm of electronic device development, efficient heat dissipation is paramount for maintaining optimal
performance and prolonging the lifespan of components. This project delves into the realm of heatsink design,
exploring a diverse array of shapes to ascertain an exceptional configuration that not only excels in heat absorption
but also augments overall thermal efficiency.Through meticulous analysis and experimentation, this study
scrutinizes a plethora of heatsink geometries. The objective is to pinpoint a distinctive shape that boasts superior
heat absorption capabilities, translating into heightened efficiency in dissipating thermal energy. By addressing the
intricate interplay of shape, surface area, and convection, the research culminates in the selection of a unique
heatsink design that exhibits remarkable performance across various applications.

Keywords: Steady state Thermal analysis, Heat sink.

I. INTRODUCTION temperature within the limits set by the device design

Modern electronics, the escalating demand for higher engineers. Reduction of temperature at the device will
performance and efficiency has introduced new reduce stress in the component internal surface both the
challenges, one of which is managing the excess heat performance and reliability of electronic circuitry are
generated by electronic components. Heatsinks, strongly influenced by the temperature. Exposure to
designed to dissipate heat and maintain optimal temperature beyond which the circuit is designed to
operating temperatures, have emerged as indispensable withstand may result in failure of the circuit1to perform
components in this thermal management process. By to specification or in failure together. The maximum
exploiting principles of heat transfer, heatsinks play a temperature to which the circuit will meet the electrical
crucial role in preventing overheating and ensuring the speciation with power allied, and the maximum storage
longevity and reliability of various electronic devices, temperature is defined as maximum temperature when
ranging from consumer electronics to industrial the power is off, to high circuit may be exposed for a
machinery. This introduction provides an overview of given period without the detrimental effects. The
the pivotal role heatsinks play in addressing heat-related detrimental effects of excessive temperature may be
challenges, highlighting their significance in sustaining divided into three categories. Soft failures happen
the continued advancement of electronic technology. because of the tendency of the parameters of both active
Both the performance reliability and life expectancy of and passive components to exhibit a degree of
electronic equipment are inversely related to the sensitivity to temperature. Hard failures in the short term
component temperature of the equipment. The may occur because of component overload because of
relationship between the reliability and the operating excessive heat or because of the breakdown of
temperature of a typical silicon semi-conductor device component attach or packaging materials. Hard failures
shows that a reduction in the temperature corresponds to in the long term may occur for a variety of reasons such
an exponential increase in the reliability and life as corrosion, chemical reactions, and inter-metallic
expectancy of the device. Therefore, long life and compound formation all of which are accelerated by
reliable performance of a component may be achieved elevated temperature.
by effectively controlling the device operating

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II. LITERATURE REVIEW [ Page Layout ] increasing the area of convection.The perforated fins
R.C. Adhikari et al. [1] “Optimizing rectangular fins have much higher contact surface with the fluid
for natural convection cooling using CFD”. They possessed to it with compared to solid fins.
investigated the combined effect of the spacing between
the fins and height and length of fin by using multi- NUMERICAL MODEL [Page Style ]
parametric computational fluid dynamics (CFD). They
observed that there is more thermal transmission per unit A. Model Description
base area and the maximum thermal transfer per unit A geometric model was designed using SolidWorks.
base area and fin weight due to application of fin Fig .1 shows schemaitcs of the electronic package
spacing, height and length. model which comprised of a top mounted heat sink
Ambarish Maji et al. [2] “Thermal Analysis for Heat the chip has a 29 x 22 mm dimension and a thickness
Transfer Enhancement in Perforated Pin Fins of
of 1 mm. A flat plate heat sink with rectangular fins
VariousShapes with Staggered Arrays”. In this paper
researchers found that thermal transmission is elevated is used in this study. The heat sink is 60 x 60 mm
by using staggered fin with different types of perforation with a base thickness of 5 mm. There are 20
such as circular, diamond shaped and elliptical type. rectangular fins of 60 x 1.5 mm dimension, 1.5 mm
They carried out CFD simulation and results also shows fin spacing and 20mm tall.
that thermal trans mission of perforat ed fin up to a
B. Load and Boundary Conditions
certain number of perforation more than the solid
fins.Vidyadhar Karlapalem et al. [3] “Design of The finite element method is used to analyse the
perforated branching fins in laminar natural convection”. steady state thermal conduction of aluminium and
This research paper investigates the two orientation fin copper heat sinks.
vertical base horizontal fin and horizontal base vertical The following assumptions were made to solve the
fin with single perorated branching fins. They varied the model:
size of perforation between 1.1 mm to 6.6 mm. They 1. Fins are with adiabatic tip.
found that perforation in vertical base horizontal fin
2. The fluid, air is assumed to be incompressible.
orientation results in higher thermal dissipation over
solid fins, at any pore size and distribution. They also 3. Air properties are taken at film temperature.
found for certain pore distribution shows lesser thermal 4.There are no heat process within film itself.
extraction than the non -perforated in horizontal base 5.The radiation heat transfer is negligible.
vertical fin orientation. This is due to feeble contribution 6.Temperature at base of the film is uniform.
of pore in fin -stem. 7. It is assumed that the electronic package is
Ambarish Maji et al. [4] “Computational Investigation perfectly bonded. The heat transfer rate through the
of Heat Transfer Analysis through Perforated Pin Fins of
model is governed by Fourier equation given in
Different Materials”. This paper investigates the effect
of material of fin and the number of perforation on references [3, 10].
thermal transmission. They performed CFD simulat ion The rate at which heat is transferred by conduction,
and they found that copper perform better than is proportional to the product of the temperature
aluminum. They also found that for different materials gradient and the cross-sectional area through which
shows increasing thermal transmission with the increase heat is transferred
of perforation at certain number (5) and diameter of
perforation up to 3mm. The pressure drop through heat
sink decreases with increasing number and size of Qi=-kA x (dT/dx)
perforation. Perforated fins work better than solid fins. Consider a heat sink in a duct, where air flows
There is variation in pressure drop with respect to the through the duct. It is assumed that the heat sink base
materials. is higher in temperature than the air. Applying the
Ambarish Maji et al. [5] “Improvement of heat transfer conservation of energy, for steady-state conditions,
through fins: A brief review of recent developments”. and Newton’s law of cooling to the temperature
This review paper presents a reviewon heat transfer
nodes shown in the diagram gives the following set
increment using fins different types of fins like porous
perforated. Porous fins transfer better heat as compared of equations:
with solid ones of the same size and weight by Q=mcp , in(Tair,out-Tair,in) (4.2)

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 Were The thermal analysis of this study is based on three-
Tair,av=(Tair,in+Tair,out)/2 dimensional steady state thermal conduction. The
To define the heat transfer coefficient, consider the thermal analysis was carried out using stagnant air in
Newton’s law of convection given by the equation simplified case of natural convection.
Q=hAs(Ts-Ta) h=Q/ As(Ts-Ta) 1.Material Selection
The 3d assembly model designed in Catia is saved as
IGES format to do the analysis in ANSYS work
bench. The work bench extracts the information of
dimensions of the model and opens to select the type
of analysis that is required [1].
The engineering data is modified aluminum material
is added to component with thermal conductivity of
247 W/m-k and 527 k temperature at peak.
Fin Efficiency 2.Mesh Generation
ῃ=tanh(mL)/ mL (4.5) The heat sink model is imported into the work bench
Were, design modeler and meshed with a four node three
h = heat transfer coefficient of fin, P = Perimeter of dimensional tetrahedron element. The meshed model
fin = 2(B+D), of the heat sink is shown in Fig 4.4.3 and the
L = Length of pin fin. mechanical Ansys workbench is used to mesh the
k = thermal conductivity of Aluminum fin = 202.4 heat sink.
W/mK A= Area of fin = B x D
Ta=Ambient temperature=300C
Ts=Surface temperature = 800 C
C. Materials and Properties
Thermal materials with high thermal conductivity
and low coefficient of thermal expansion are
preferable for heat sink materials. For steady state
thermal analysis, thermal conductivity is the only
material property considered. Aluminium and copper Figure 14.43
materials are often used in heat sink production The selected fin from the geometry then follows for
because of the high thermal conductivity of both the meshing. The meshing includes the coarse and
materials. Table 1 presents the materials and thermal fine meshing. Here the fine meshing has been
conductivities used in this study. selected for the aluminium heat sink. The meshing
summarizes all nodes into the consideration for
Table 1: Thermal conductivities of materials applying the principle of heat transfer convection
Material Thermal process.
Conductivity(W/mK) 3.Boundary Conditions
Aluminium 237.5
Copper 400.0
Silicon 148.0
Thermal Interface 10.0
Material

D. Methodology

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 surface of all heat sinks considered in the analysis.
Using Ansys workbench, the maximum and minimum
temperature, heat flux of heat sinks has been estimated.
The result pertaining to the steady state thermal analysis
involves temperature& heat flux contours as explained
and shown below.
1V.Temperature Distribution
5.1.1 Differential Area Fin

The heat flow of 14W is given to the fin base as

initial condition followed by the convective heat
transfer coefficient to the remaining part of the sink
with a value of 6e-6 W/mm2 0 C.
The conditions such as temperature and total heat
flux are obtained by assigning them to Solution part.
Thereafter the whole process is solved by using
Ansys workbench.
Temp.distribution in differential fin
The temperature distribution is obtained with 103.7℃ of
maximum temperature at the centre of base plate and the
minimum temperature of 102.85℃ at the tip of fins. The
A geometric model was designed using Ansys simulated result is shown in fig 5.1.1(a)
workbench version 13. Fig. 1 shows schematics of 5.1.2 Trapezoidal Fin
the electronic package model which comprised of a
top mounted heat sink, a chip and thermal interface
. A geometric model was designed using Ansys
workbench version 13. Fig. 1 shows schematics of
the electronic package model which comprised of a
top mounted heat sink, a chip and thermal interface
A geometric model was designed using Ansys
workbench version 13. Fig. 1 shows schematics of
the electronic package model which comprised of a
top mounted heat sink, a chip and thermal interface
A geometric model was designed using Ansys
workbench version 13. Fig. 1 shows schematics of
the electronic package model which comprised of a
top mounted heat sink, a chip and thermal interfac Temp.Distribution in trapezoidal fin 1
The temperature distribution is obtained with 103.7℃ of
maximum temperature at the center of base plate and the
II. RESULT AND DISCUSSION minimum temperature of 102.85℃ at the tip of fins. The
simulated result is shown in fig 5.1.1(a)
For a steady state thermal analysis, the amount of heat
flow is given as input to the base plate of each heat sink 5.1.3 Wavy Fin
considered in the analysis. A constant convection heat
transfer coefficient of 6e-6 W/mm2 0Cand ambient
temperature 300 C have been applied to the remaining

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 Heat Flux in Trapezoidal Fin 1
Temp.Distribution in Wavy Fin 1 The total heat flux distribution of orientation to X- axis
The temperature distribution is obtained with 103.7℃ of is obtained with a maximum of 0.016736 W/mm2 and
maximum temperature at the centre of base plate and the minimum of 0.00017739 W/mm2. The simulated result
minimum temperature of 102.85℃ at the tip of fins. The is as shown in fig 5.2.1(a).
simulated result is shown in fig 5.1.1(a)
5.2.3 Wavy Fin
5.2 Heat Flux Distribution

5.2.1 Differential Area Fin

Heat Flux in Wavy Fin 1

5.3 Directional Heat Flux

Heat flux in differential area fin 1 5.3.1 Differential Area Fin
The total heat flux distribution of orientation to X- axis
is obtained with a maximum of 0.016736 W/mm2 and
minimum of 0.00017739 W/mm2. The simulated result
is as shown in fig 5.2.1(a).

5.2.2 Trapezoidal Fin

Directional Flux in Differentialarea fin 1

The total heat flux distribution of orientation to X- axis
is obtained with a maximum of 0.016736 W/mm2 and

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minimum of 0.00017739 W/mm2. The simulated result In this study, a steady state thermal analysis has been
is as shown in fig 5.2.1(a). carried out on perforated heat sinks by varying the
geometrical configuration of perforations to rectangular
5.3.2 Trapezoidal Fin flat-plate fins. The results are evaluated based on
temperature distribution and heat flux distribution which
indicate the total heat dissipation from the entire surface
under a fixed volume condition. The thermal
performance of rectangular plate fin with circular,
square, and triangular perforations and increasing
number of perforations as single, double, triple and four
perforations were compared for the fixed base plate
dimensions and fin height under fixed volume
conditions.
Directional Flux in Trapezoidal Fin 1
According to the results obtained, we can conclude
The total heat flux distribution of orientation to X- axis
is obtained with a maximum of 0.016736 W/mm2 and that the rectangular plate fin heat sinks with four
minimum of 0.00017739 W/mm2. The simulated result triangular perforations show better thermal performance
is as shown in fig 5.2.1(a). in the most practical regions, especially in the process of
natural convection. A plate fin array with four triangular
5.3.3 Wavy Fin perforations usually has a larger surface area compared
to other considered fins (of different geometries of
perforation). So therefore, the rectangular plate fin with
four triangular perforations dissipates the most heat from
the equipment in the case of total heat dissipation as in
the present study(especially in the case of natural
convection).

Therefore, it is recommended to use rectangular plate

fin heat sinks with triangular perforations when the total
heat dissipation for a given volume of heat sink is to be
maximized under a fixed volume condition if the
Directional Flux in Wavy Fin 1
The total heat flux distribution of orientation to X- axis IV. REFERENCES
is obtained with a maximum of 0.016736 W/mm2 and
minimum of 0.00017739 W/mm2. The simulated result [1] V. Himachandra Raju, Ch. Srinivasa Rao “Steady
is as shown in fig 5.2.1(a). State Thermal Analysis of a Heat Sink with Rectangular
From the results obtained by analysis, it has been found
Pin Fin” International Journal for Research in Applied
that for a particular chosen material of aluminum and a
constant convective heat transfer coefficient, rectangular Science & Engineering Technology (IJRASET), Volume
fin with triangular perforation gives highest heat transfer 6, Issue IV, April 2018.
and as the number of perforations increase, the surface
area exposed to air is more, so the heat transfer is more. [2] C. W. Leung and S. D. Probert “Heat-exchanger
So, the rectangular pin fin with four triangular performance: influence of gap width between
perforations gives much heat transfer. consecutive vertical rectangular fin arrays. Applied
Energy. 56: 1-8,1997.
III. CONCLUSION

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[3] Y. Joo, S. J. Kim “Comparison of thermal [12] CPKothandaraman, S. Subramanyan “Heat and
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[13] Amit Md. EstiaqueArefin, “Thermal Analysis of
[4] ] Umesh V. Awasarmol , Ashok T. Pise “An Modified Pin Fin Heat Sink for Natural Convection”,
experimental investigation of natural convection heat 2016 5th International Conference on Informatics,
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[5] H. H. Jung, and J. G. Maneet “Pin fin heat sink

modeling and characterization”, Sixteenth IEEE Semi-
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[6] Ahmed F. Khudheyer, Zaid Hameed Hasan “Effect

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[7] Numerical analysis of convection heat transfer from

an array of perforated fins using RANS and LES method
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[8] G. Hetstoni, A. Mosyak, Z. Segal, G. Ziskind “A

uniform temperature heat sink for cooling of electronic
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[9] Bar-Cohen, A. and Iyengar M “Design and

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[10] Ankit Giolla, Sunil.V.Dingare and

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