Application of response surface methodology in describing the thermal performances of a pin-fin heat sink

The heat sink of pin-fin array structure is widely applied in the cooling enhancement of current electronic equipment because of the advantage of non-sensitive to airflow direction and large surface area per given volume. In this study, a systematic experimental design based on the response surface methodology (RSM) is used to identify the effects of design parameters of the pin-fin heat sink (PFHS) on the thermal performance. Various design parameters, such as the height and diameter of pin-fin and the width of pitch between fins, are explored in the experiment. The thermal resistance Rth and pressure drop ΔP are adopted as the thermal performance characteristics. A standard RSM design called a central composite design (CCD) is applied in this experimental plan. The results distinguish the significant influential factors for minimizing the thermal resistance Rth and pressure drop ΔP. An effective procedure of response surface methodology (RSM) has been established for predicting and optimizing the thermal resistance Rth and the pressure drop ΔP of PFHS with the design constraints. The experimental results also indicate that the model proposed in this study is reasonable and accurate and can be used for describing the thermal resistance Rth and pressure drop ΔP with the limitations of the factors studied.