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Investigation of a natural convection heat transfer enhancement of a different shaped pin fin heat sink for different vertical fin spacing

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Abstract

As the junction temperature of a light-emitting diode (LED) is inversely proportional to its lifespan and efficiency, it is necessary to maintain it at a lower temperature using different heat transfer techniques. This study investigates, the thermal performance of a heat sink-based model with a drop-shaped pin fin connected with plate fin under natural convection. The study focuses on the basic design parameters of pin fin configuration such as fin array, pin fin shape and vertical fin spacing (Sv). Three distinct pin fin shapes with variable vertical fin spacing (Sv = 25, 50 and 75 mm) are considered for study. Several experimental trials are performed for the validation purpose of the traditional plate fins and circular pin fins type heat sink. The standard correlations are used for the comparison of experimental results. A qualitative investigation is also performed utilising experimental research to investigate heat transfer enhancement for various configurations. For different fin shape and vertical fin spacing, a Nusselt number, convective heat transfer coefficient and the temperature difference between the base plate and ambient temperature are assessed. Experimental results revealed that, for any heat input, with an increase in vertical fin spacing, the Nusselt number, convective heat transfer coefficient and temperature difference between the base plate and ambient temperature are increased. The maximum heat transfer coefficient was found to be 11.97 W/m2K for drop shape pin fins with vertical fin spacing (Sv) equal to 75 mm and heat input of 200 W. Similarly, the Nusselt number was found 88.66 for same configuration. This comparison will help to understand the effect of vertical fin spacing in vertical orientation. Also, it will help to determine innovative passive cooling technology with combined drop shape and plate fin type heat sink for electronic devices such as LED streetlights.

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Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article [and/or] its supplementary materials.

Abbreviations

Q T :

Total Heat Transfer[W]

Q conv :

Heat removed through natural convection[W]

Q Rad :

Heat transfer through radiation[W]

h T :

Heat transfer coefficient [W/m2k]

h C :

Natural heat transfer coefficient[W/m2k]

h R :

Radiative heat transfer coefficient[W/m2k]

T :

Fin surface temperature[°C]

T a :

Ambient temperature [°C]

ε :

Emissivity -

\(\sigma\) :

Stefan Boltzmann constant[W/m2K4]

Nu :

Nusselt number-

Ra :

Rayleigh number-

Pr :

Prandtl number-

g :

Acceleration due to gravity[m/s2]

β :

Coefficient of thermal expansion1/K

v :

Kinematic viscosity[m2/s]

α :

Thermal diffusivity[m2/s]

L :

Length of heat sink [m]

L D :

Apex length of drop fin[m]

D :

Diameter of pin fin[m]

A :

Convective surface area of heat sink[m2]

W :

Width of the heat sink assembly [m]

S H :

Horizontal Fin spacing [m]

S V :

Vertical Fin spacing [m]

H :

Height [m]

X :

Plate fin spacing[m]

TEF :

Thermal Enhancement Factor

C p :

Specific heat[KJ/kg K]

U :

Uncertainty of sample

air :

air

base :

Base plate

Plate fin :

Plate fin heat sink

surr :

Surrounding

exp :

Experimental

D :

Drop pin fin

C :

Circular pin fin

abs :

Absolute

savg :

Average surface temperature

o :

Overall

f :

Pin fin

T :

Total

u,v,w :

Respective direction velocity

η :

Fin efficiency

\(\upomega\) :

Uncertainty

\(\rho\) :

Density[kg/m3]

k :

Thermal conductivity[W/mK]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering and Management, Pune, 412207, India

    Ram Deshmukh

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Research, M.E.S. College of Engineering, Pune, 411001, India

    V. N. Raibhole

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Research, Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology, Pune, 41101, India

    Ram Deshmukh

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  1. Ram Deshmukh
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  2. V. N. Raibhole
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Contributions

Ram Deshmukh: Conceptualization; model development; experimentation; methodology; software; writing-original draft. V. N. Raibhole: Project administration; supervision; validation.

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Correspondence to Ram Deshmukh.

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Deshmukh, R., Raibhole, V.N. Investigation of a natural convection heat transfer enhancement of a different shaped pin fin heat sink for different vertical fin spacing. Heat Mass Transfer 59, 2131–2148 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-023-03395-3

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