Microfeature Heat Exchanger Using Variable-Density Arrays for Near-Isothermal Cold-Plate Operation

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the possibility to selectively tune the convective heat transfer coefficient in different sections of a heat sink by varying the density of microfeatures in order to minimize temperature gradients between discrete heat sources positioned along the flow path. Lifetime of power electronics is strongly correlated to the thermal management of the junction. Therefore, it is of interest to have constant junction temperatures across all devices in the array. Implementation of microfeature enhancement on the convective side improves the heat transfer due to an increase in surface area. Specific shapes such as micro-hydrofoils offer a reduced pressure drop allowing for combined improvement of heat transfer and flow performance. This study presents experimental results from an array of three discrete heat sources (20 × 15 mm) generating 100 W/cm² and positioned in line along the flow path with a spacing of 10 mm between each of the sources. The heat sink was machined out of aluminum 6061, and micro-hydrofoils with a characteristic length of 500 μm were embedded in the cold plate. The cooling medium used is water at a flow rate of 3.6–13.4 g/s corresponding to a Reynolds number of 420–1575. It is demonstrated that the baseplate temperature can be maintained below 90 °C, and the difference between the maximum temperatures of each heat source is less than 6.7 °C at a heat flux of 100 W/cm² and a water flow rate of 4.8 g/s.