Prediction of micro surface cooler performance for different rectangular type microchannels dimensions

•Stagnant points should be eliminated to enhance device’s performance.•Reducing the short microchannel’s depth enhance the heat transfer.•Increasing the width of short microchannel enhance the heat transfer.

In this publication the investigation of the heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop in a micro surface cooler for different microchannel geometries by CFD simulation is described. The simulation is considering only a single row of microchannels with laminar flow, taking advantage of symmetry effects for the total micro surface cooler device. A comparison between simulation and experimental results has been carried out. The maximum temperature deviation of 10 K has been found from the comparison study, especially for higher heat flux applied. Changing the microchannel depth and width results in a significant effect to cooling capability and the pressure drop of the system. A microchannel depth decreased by a factor of two provides a heat transfer coefficient increase of about 43% for devices made of polymer. At the same time, the heat transfer surface temperature is decreased by ten degrees.This study is expected to lead to a guideline for the optimization of micro surface coolers with short microchannels.