DESIGN OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE HEAT TRANSFER CHANNELS ENABLED BY ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Date

2023-8

Author

Uysal, Hakan

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Rapid developments in the field of power electronics led to an increasing need for high-performance cooling systems. Advances in additive manufacturing provided means for implementing innovative and complex cooling channels with ease; therefore, using microgrooves, static mixers, baffles, and lattice structures to promote mixing in thermal management systems has become more feasible. Mixing the flow through such vortex generators offers an efficient route in the laminar regime with a relatively low-pressure drop. This thesis aims to explore the potential of such structures enabled by additive manufacturing in enhancing heat transfer performance. For this purpose, the thesis investigates the cooling performance of 3D-printed chevron-type static mixers in a mini-channel configuration. A series of simulations were performed using the finite volume method in the laminar regime to identify the optimum geometrical parameters, including the angle of attack and optimum pattern spacing. A generic mini-channel was considered as the heat sink, with the operational parameters chosen to represent a reference power electronic system’s cooling needs. The results show vi that the utilization of chevron-type static mixers can enhance the heat transfer by 206% while increasing the pressure drop by only 334% relative to the empty channel. Our results not only display the great potential of 3D printed heat exchangers for the thermal management of next-generation power electronics but also present a strong numerical platform for the design of mini-channels for the thermal management of high flux systems.

Subject Keywords

Convective Heat Transfer, Additive Manufacturing, Mini Channels, Finite Volume Method, Static Mixers

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/105195

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis