Application of Heat Pipes with Forced Convective Heat Transfer in Cooling of Electronic Equipments
Mohammad Reza Tavakoli *
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran.
Reza Zaghian
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran.
Ali Mohammadi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Heat pipes are widely used as a cooling system in various equipments such as air conditioning systems, electronic boards, etc. To enhance the heat transfer, these pipes can be finned, or increased the air velocity by using a fan. This study aimed at examining the cooling effect of a finned Capillary-Driven heat pipe with forced convective heat transfer on an electronic board with known heat flux. Also, the effects of size and number of fins on the heat transferred from the electronic board were studied for different power inputs. The values of transferred heat were compared to and validated by the various heat transfer empirical equations available in the literature. To obtain the correct arrangement of the fins and to study the heat transfer, the motion of air through the fins was simulated in 2-D, and the segment of the fins effective in the heat transfer process was determined. The results obtained from changing the fin dimensions showed that the fin width (W) is the critical dimension so that when air velocity and other dimensions are kept constant. The rate of heat transfer also increases with increasing fin length (L), but the effect of increase is less than that of fin width (W).
Keywords: Heat pipes, cooling system, electronic board, forced heat transfer, fin.