Channel cross section effect on heat transfer performance of oblique finned microchannel heat sink

In the present work, the effect of channel cross section on the heat transfer performance of an oblique finned micro-channel heat sink was investigated. Water and Al2O3/water nanofluid of volume fraction 0.25% were used as a coolant. The oblique finned microchannels are designed with three channel cross-sections namely square, semicircle and trapezoidal. The primary work of this paper is to study the heat transfer and hydrodynamic characteristics in the oblique finned microchannel. The experimental setup and procedure are validated using water as coolant in a micro-channel heat sink. Heat transfer and flow characteristics are examined for three cross-sections of varying mass flux. The trapezoidal channel cross-section increases the considerable heat transfer rate improvement for both water and nanofluid by 3.133% and 5.878% compared to square and semicircle cross section. Also, the pressure drop is higher in the trapezoidal cross-section over the square and semicircle cross section. This is due to increase in friction loss of trapezoidal cross section. The results indicate that trapezoidal cross-section oblique finned micro-channel is more suitable for heat transfer in the electronic cooling application.