Optimization of Thermal Performance by Enhancing Natural Convection of Diverse Configurations of Fin Heat Sink Filled With Nano-Enhanced Phase Change Materials: A Numerical Study

Abstract

Electronic components require faster propagation of heat to prevent overheating as well as to maintain a stable operating condition. Incorporating phase change materials (PCMs) in fin heat sinks (FHSs) can be a viable solution to enhance natural convection. In the present work, an extensive investigation has been carried out on three types (square, circular, and triangular) of FHSs filled with PCMs to find the best combinations for the thermal cooling of a heat sink. To increase the thermal conductivity of the PCMs, Cu–water nanofluid is added. The effects of three types (paraffin wax, stearic acid, and polyethylene glycol) of PCMs have been studied. Nondimensional equations have been solved numerically by using Galerkin's finite element method. A parametric investigation has been conducted by varying the Rayleigh number within the range of 10³–10⁶ to calculate the Nusselt number. Results reveal that a heat sink with PCMs can reduce the temperature rise by 6.41% and increase the Nusselt number by 4.6% compared to a heat sink without PCMs. As the height of the fins increases from 10 to 16 mm, thermal efficiency increases. Moreover, square FHSs show the best thermal performance by reducing the temperature rise by as much as 13.41% compared to circular and triangular FHSs. Therefore, this comparative study shows that the dimensional configurations of FHSs with varying PCMs have a great impact on thermal performance and thus provide one the opportunity to obtain an effective arrangement of heat sinks.