Performance Analysis of an Ultrahigh Performance, 3-D Micro Convective Heat Sink With a Nearly Fractal Plumbing System

This paper presents the design and CFD analysis of a 3-D, active micro convective heat sink having high surface-to-volume ratio geometry. The heat sink consists of an array of elemental units arranged in parallel. Each unit is constructed as a network of nearly fractal geometry. The design of each unit uses the constructal method to minimize the point-to-point temperature difference within the heat sink and Murray’s Law to minimize pressure drop across the device. The heat sink is designed for the tape casting fabrication method using thick silver film techniques and co–fired with low temperature co-fired ceramic substrate. To analyze fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of the design, we use the Fluent CFD software. The numerical results are presented to validate the theoretical optimization and outline the ultra-high performance characteristics of the heat sink such as the overall thermal resistance, pumping power and effectiveness.