Orientation effect on heat transfer of a shrouded LED backlight panel with a plate-fin array

This study reports thermal performance of a shrouded 348 mm × 558 mm aluminum plate-fin heat sink subject to various input powers and orientations. Effects of clearance (C) and the orientation on the heat transfer of the heat sink were investigated. Results show that the clearance effect is detectable only in a “window region” between 5 mm and 10 mm where an appreciable rise of heat transfer coefficient is encountered. As the tilted angle (θ) of the LED panel is increased, the heat transfer coefficient is reduced and the clearance effect on heat transfer becomes more pronounced. The heat transfer coefficients are similar between two cases in which the tilted angles of the LED panel are supplementary irrespective of clearance and input power. Except the cases of a horizontal heat sink, heat transfer coefficient of the shrouded heat sink having a fin array facing downward is usually slightly higher than that having supplementary tilted angle.