A 3D numerical study of heat transfer in a single-phase micro-channel heat sink using graphene, aluminum and silicon as substrates

The study describes numerical simulations conducted on micro-channel heat sinks. Three different shapes related to the micro-channel depth and width is chosen for examination. Silicon, aluminum, and graphene are used as substrate materials for this study. The overall heat sink consisted of an array of rectangular micro-channels. Three different surface heat fluxes and three different volumetric flow rates are used for three cases. Water with nontemperature-dependent thermal properties is used as a coolant for steady-state, fully developed laminar flow in the micro-channels. From a heat transfer (thermal performance) perspective, it is found that graphene most effectively reduce the thermal resistance. Based on these results, graphene was further studied as a substrate material for a micro-channel heat sink. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.