Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 51:415419
DOI 10.1007/s00170-008-1867-9
SPECIAL ISSUE - ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Modeling and simulation of a parallel plate heat sink
using computational fluid dynamics
R. Arularasan & R. Velraj
Received: 1 March 2008 / Accepted: 15 September 2008 / Published online: 20 December 2008
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2008
Abstract Desktop computers have changed to accommo-
date increasing power, approaching 100 W. Heat dissipation
becomes a significant issue in efficiency promotion and
stable operation of air-cooled microelectronics and power
electronics components and assemblies. Finned heat sinks
are commonly used devices for enhancing heat transfer
from air-cooled microelectronics and power electronics
components and assemblies. The use of finned heat sinks
increases the effective surface area for convective heat
transfer, reducing the thermal resistance and operating
temperatures in air-cooled electronics. The task of selecting
the best heat sink for a particular application from the
hundreds of configurations available from the various
manufacturers can be a formidable task for an engineer. In
a typical heat sink design, the objective is to achieve target
heat dissipation, while restricting the consumption of
valuable resources such as mass, fan power, pressure drop,
and space claim. In this research work, preliminary studies
have been carried out for the performance improvement of
a parallel-plate heat sink considering the various geometric
parameters, such as number of fins, fin length, fin height,
and base height. The modeling and simulation of the heat
sink is carried out with the computational fluid dynamics
package. The results are analyzed using analysis of variance
and response graphs.
R. Arularasan (*)
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
SSN College of Engineering,
Chennai, Tamilnadu 603 110, India
e-mail: arularasanr@ssn.edu.in
R. Velraj
Institute for Energy Studies, CEG, Anna University,
Chennai, Tamilnadu 600 025, India
Keywords Heat sink . Thermal resistance .
Design of experiments . CFD solver . ANOVA
1 Introduction
The use of semiconductor chips has proliferated into
virtually the entire range of consumer electronics. The
explosive growth of personal computers and telecommuni-
cations, and the demand for increased performance, drives
chip designs. The continuing increase of power densities in
electronics packages and the simultaneous drive to reduce
the size and weight of electronic products have led to an
increased importance on thermal management issues in this
industry. The growth in the number of devices per chip, in
accordance with Moores Law, has resulted in an exponen-
tial increase in energy dissipation requirements [1]. The
most common method for cooling electronic packages is
the use of aluminum heat sinks. These heat sinks provide a
large surface area for the dissipation of heat and effectively
reduce the thermal resistance of a package. Current
estimates for future cooling needs in middle-end computers
and telecom applications point to the need for the
development of more efficient compact heat exchangers
employing active heat transfer methods in combination with
ambient air [2]. In the near term, however, air cooling in
conjunction with traditional heat sinks will continue to be
the method of choice for heat dissipation due to the ease of
application, reliability, and low cost of this technology.
Unfortunately, heat sinks often take up much space and
contribute to the weight and cost of the product. Conse-
quently, the need for new and more effective ways to
dissipate this energy is becoming increasingly urgent.
Traditionally, the performance of heat sinks is measured
experimentally and the results are made available in the
416
Fig. 1 A typical heat sink
form of design graphs in heat sink catalogues. This
characterization method has been the topic of much debate
as vendors have applied different standards or interpreta-
tions to determine the characterization of heat sinks [3].
Analytical and empirical formulations for the fin efficiency,
pressure drop, and the heat transfer coefficient have also
been used in the design process to determine the optimal
heat sink design [4]. Because of compelling market
requirements, design optimization of new electronic devices
is often found to be prohibitive. Techniques such as one
variable at a time are useful for simple designs; however,
they often fall short for real-world applications. In recent
years, maturation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
software codes tailored for applications in the electronics
industry and the availability of powerful low-cost work-
stations have made possible the simultaneous solution of
both the heat transfer and fluid dynamic problems in
undertaking thermal design of electronic devices. To
achieve an optimal design of heat sink for an effective heat
transfer, newer methodologies or techniques are to be
identified
2 Influence of the geometric parameters in a heat sink
The performance of a heat sink depends on a number of
parameters including the thermal conduction resistance,
Table 1 Range of geometric parameter used in the heat sink model
Parameter Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Number of fins (N) 20 30 40
Fin length (L) mm 50 75 100
Fin height (H) mm 10 20 30
Base height (BH) mm 2.5 5 7.5
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 51:415419
Fig. 2 Computational model of heat sink
dimensions of the cooling channels [5], location and
concentration of heat sources, and the airflow bypass due
to flow resistance through the heat sink. These parameters
make the optimal design of a heat sink very difficult.
Optimal heat sink design for an electronic system is
extremely time-consuming [6]. Therefore, in this work,
we have adapted an approach that combines a heat sinks
numerical model with design of experiments (DOE)
methodology, thereby incorporating the influence of the
design variables automatically. This approach considered
geometric parameters of the heat sink that have the
individual and interaction effects on the target heat
dissipation.
3 Modeling and simulation
A typical parallel plate heat sink considered in this present
work is shown in Fig. 1. The important geometric variables
considered are number of fins (N), fin length (L), fin height
(H), and base height (BH). The range of geometric
parameters of the chosen heat sink for the present study is
given in Table 1. Considering the various geometric
variables present in the modeling and simulation, the
DOE approach with L27 orthogonal array has been applied
to reduce the simulation time and costs involved [7].
Table 2 Other parameters used in the model
Heat sink type Parallel plate heat sink
Heat sink material Aluminum
Maximum thermal load in the heat sink 150.0 W
Ambient temperature 25C
Minimum velocity of the air flow 0.0299 m/s
Maximum velocity of the air flow 2.38 m/s
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 51:415419 417

include conservation of mass, conservation of momentum,

and conservation of energy. A typical computational
model of the parallel plate heat sink is shown in Fig. 2.
Various specifications and other parameters used in the
modeling and simulation of the heat sink are given in
Table 2.

4 Results and discussions

The symmetry available in the heat sink is utilized to save

Fig. 3 Temperature contour in the heat sink
Modeling and simulation of the heat sink have been
carried out using a CFD package. This package uses a
systems CFD solver for fluid flow and a full three-
dimensional conduction solver. This solvers features
the computation power and cost. Therefore, only the
symmetrical portion of the heat sink alone is simulated in
this work. The temperature contour in the heat sink is
shown in Fig. 3 as a sample output.
The results of the simulation are shown in Table 3. The
results obtained through the simulation are analyzed using
analysis of variance (Table 4) and response graphs
(Fig. 4).
Analysis of variance has shown the significant parame-
ters and their levels for the output parameter, namely, low
thermal resistance. From Table 4 and Fig. 4, it is evident

Table 3 Simulation results

Input Output

Number of fins Fin length (mm) Fin height (mm) Base height (mm) Thermal resistance C/W

20 50 10 2.5 5.4
20 50 20 5.0 1.2
20 50 30 7.5 0.7
20 75 10 5.0 4.8
20 75 20 7.5 1.1
20 75 30 2.5 0.7
20 100 10 7.5 3.8
20 100 20 2.5 1.6
20 100 30 5.0 0.7
30 50 10 5.0 7.9
30 50 20 7.5 1.9
30 50 30 2.5 1.2
30 75 10 7.5 6.0
30 75 20 2.5 3.1
30 75 30 5.0 1.2
30 100 10 2.5 9.8
30 100 20 5.0 2.9
30 100 30 7.5 1.2
40 50 10 7.5 8.5
40 50 20 2.5 5.2
40 50 30 5.0 2.3
40 75 10 2.5 13.2
40 75 20 5.0 4.4
40 75 30 7.5 2.2
40 100 10 5.0 8.7
40 100 20 7.5 3.7
40 100 30 2.5 2.9
418 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 51:415419

Table 4 Analysis of variance table for thermal resistance

Source Pool DF S V F S Remarks

N 2 53.4429 26.7215 151.9503 53.0912 19.13 99%

L 2 0.3989 0.1994 1.1341 0.0472 0.02 NS
H 2 185.5398 92.7699 527.5316 185.1881 67.34 99%
BH 2 11.2163 5.6081 31.8903 10.8645 3.95 99%
E 6 6.4162 1.0694 6.0809 6.3610 1.95 90%
NL 4 6.2876 1.5719 8.9385 5.5842 2.03 95%
NH 4 10.9942 2.7486 15.6296 10.2908 3.74 99%
LH Y 4 0.7034 0.1759 NS
(e) 4 0.7034 0.1759 4.5723 1.66
Total 26 274.9993 10.5769

that, for a low thermal resistance in the selected heat sink
model, the geometric parameters, namely, the number of
fins (20), fin height (30 mm), and base height (7.5 mm), are
found to be significant at low, high, and high levels,
respectively. By keeping a minimum number of fins, the
designer can allow maximum possible fin pitch so that the
pressure drop will be minimal and air flow will be maximal
for an improved heat transfer in the heat sink.
Similarly, to increase the heat transfer area of the heat
sink, instead of increasing the fin length and number of
fins, the designer can increase the fin height such that any
adverse pressure drop can be avoided. The interaction
effects of the geometric parameters, namely, the number of
fins (low level) with fin length (high level) and fin length
(low level) with fin height (high level), are found to be
significant for a low thermal resistance in the heat sink.
These results are found to be in good agreement with the
other researchers work found in the literature [1, 3, 4].
However, the previous researchers have not considered the
interaction effects.
5 Conclusion
In this research work, preliminary studies for the optimal
design of the heat sink have been carried out on a parallel-
plate heat sink considering the geometric parameters such
as number of fins, fin length, fin height, and base height
using DOE methodology in conjunction with simulation
results. The simulation results are found to be in good
agreement with the previous researchers work found in the
literature. However, they have not considered the interac-
tion effects of the geometric parameters. This research work
has considered the interaction effects of various geometric
parameters, and they are found to be influencing. The
simulation results are analyzed using analysis of variance
and response graphs. The individual effects of geometric
parameters, such as number of fins, fin height, and base
height, are found to be significant for a low thermal
resistance in the heat sink. The interaction effect of the
number of fins and fin length, as well as the number of fins
and fin height, are found to be significant for a low thermal

Fig. 4 Mean response graphs

for thermal resistance
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2010) 51:415419
resistance in the heat sink. This study will benefit the
design engineers involved in electronic cooling. Using the
approach presented in this research work, the design
engineers can carry out optimization of parametric com-
puter-aided design models, for the selection or design of
heat sink for effective thermal management in their
electronic assemblies. In our future research work, we aim
to extend this approach in our study for the performance
improvement and parametric optimization of the above heat
sink, additionally including the other influencing output
parameters, namely, minimum pressure drop, the average
heat transfer coefficient, and the average air flow velocity
in the heat sink.
Nomenclature
Contribution ratio
BH Base height of the heat sink (mm)
DF Degree of freedom
e Pooled error
F Variance ratio
H Fin height of the heat sink (mm)
L Fin length of the heat sink (mm)
N Number of fins in the heat sink
NS Not significant
S Pure sum of square
419
SS Sum of square
V Error variance or mean square
W Width of the heat sink of the heat sink
Y Pooled factor
References
1. Copeland D (2000) Optimization of parallel plate heat sinks for
forced convection. In: Sixteenth annual IEEE semiconductor
thermal measurement and management symposium, San Jose,
March 2000, pp 266272
2. Chen Y-T, Kang S-W, Tuh W-C, Hsiao T-H (2004) Experimental
investigation of fluid flow and heat transfer in micro channels.
Tamkang J Sci Eng 7(1):1116
3. Bar-Cohen A, Iyengar M (2002) Design and optimization of air-
cooled heat sinks for sustainable development. IEEE Trans
Compon Packag Technol 25(4):584591 (December)
4. Teertstra P, Yovanovich MM, Culham JR, Lemczyk T (1999)
Analytical forced convection modeling of plate fin heat sinks. In:
Fifteenth annual IEEE semiconductor thermal measurement and
management symposium, San Diego, March 1999, pp 3441
5. Lee S (1995) Optimum design and selection of heat sinks. In:
Eleventh annual IEEE semiconductor thermal measurement and
management symposium, San Jose, February 1995, pp 4854
6. Stewart T, Stiver DW (2004) Thermal optimization of electronic
systems using design of experiments based on numerical inputs. In:
IEEE semiconductor thermal measurement and management
symposium, San Jose, March 2004, pp 135142
7. Park SH (1996) Robust design and analysis for quality engineering.
Chapman & Hall, London