{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102777"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/102777","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Experimental Evaluation of an Additively Manufactured Straight Mini-Channel Heat Sink for Electronics Cooling","abstract":"The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use liquids for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume. Mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and it is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over a range of Reynolds numbers (150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions ($3000W/m^2$, $5000W/m^2$, $6500W/m^2$), and a range of Reynolds numbers (150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of $1000 W/m^2-K$ can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements.","abstract_html":"The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use liquids for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume. Mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and it is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over a range of Reynolds numbers (150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions (<span class=\"etd-inline-math\">3000W/m<sup>2</sup></span>, <span class=\"etd-inline-math\">5000W/m<sup>2</sup></span>, <span class=\"etd-inline-math\">6500W/m<sup>2</sup></span>), and a range of Reynolds numbers (150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of <span class=\"etd-inline-math\">1000 W/m<sup>2</sup>-K</span> can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements.","abstract_has_math":true,"creators":["Eidi, Ali Fadhil"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Huxtable, Scott T."],"committee_members":["Diller, Thomas E.","Williams, Christopher B."],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-03-23","date_published":"2021-03-23","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:45Z","subjects":["Heat--Transmission","Additive manufacturing","Binder Jetting","Minichannels/Microchannels","Heat Sinks","Electronics Cooling"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:29451"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:29451","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102777","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Huxtable, Scott T."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Diller, Thomas E.","Williams, Christopher B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Eidi, Ali Fadhil"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2021-03-24T08:00:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-03-24T08:00:18Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2021-03-23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Heat--Transmission","Additive manufacturing","Binder Jetting","Minichannels/Microchannels","Heat Sinks","Electronics Cooling"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:29451"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102777"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use liquids for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume. Mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and it is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over a range of Reynolds numbers (150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions ($3000W/m^2$, $5000W/m^2$, $6500W/m^2$), and a range of Reynolds numbers (150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of $1000 W/m^2-K$ can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use water instead of air for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume due to the small channels. Mini/microchannels are distinguished from conventional channels by the hydraulic diameter, where they range from $10mu m$ to $2mm$. M/MCHS are typically manufactured from a highly conductive metals with the channels fabricated on the surface. However, mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. Complex features like curves or internall channels are difficult or even impossible to manufacture. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. Binder jetting possess unique advantageous as it uses precise control of a liquid binder applied to a bed of fine powder to create complex geometries Furthermore, it does not require extreme heating during the fabrication process. The advantages of binder jetting include that it is low cost, high speed, can be applied to a variety of materials, and the ability to scale easily in size. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and this heat sink is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over different water flow rates (Reynolds numbers between 150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The surface roughness effect should be considered in future designs of additively manufactured minichannels. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions ($3000W/m^2$, $5000W/m^2$, $6500W/m^2$), and different water flow conditions (Reynolds numbers 150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of $1000 W/m^2-K$ can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. However, a mismatch between the experimental data and the correlation requires further investigation. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Experimental Evaluation of an Additively Manufactured Straight Mini-Channel Heat Sink for Electronics Cooling"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Huxtable, Scott T."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Diller, Thomas E.","Williams, Christopher B."],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Eidi, Ali Fadhil"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2021-03-24T08:00:18Z"],"dc:date.available":["2021-03-24T08:00:18Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2021-03-23"],"dc:description.abstract":["The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use liquids for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume. Mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and it is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over a range of Reynolds numbers (150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions ($3000W/m^2$, $5000W/m^2$, $6500W/m^2$), and a range of Reynolds numbers (150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of $1000 W/m^2-K$ can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["The continuous miniaturization of electronic devices and the corresponding increase in computing powers have led to a significant growth in the density of heat dissipation within these devices. This increase in heat generation has challenged conventional air fan cooling and alternative solutions for heat removal are required to avoid overheating and part damage. Micro/Mini channel heat sinks (M/MCHS) that use water instead of air for heat removal appear as an attractive solution to this problem as they provide large heat transfer area per volume due to the small channels. Mini/microchannels are distinguished from conventional channels by the hydraulic diameter, where they range from $10mu m$ to $2mm$. M/MCHS are typically manufactured from a highly conductive metals with the channels fabricated on the surface. However, mini/microchannels traditionally have suffered from geometrical and material restrictions due to fabrication constraints. Complex features like curves or internall channels are difficult or even impossible to manufacture. An emerging new additive manufacturing technique called binder jetting has the potential to overcome some of those restrictions. Binder jetting possess unique advantageous as it uses precise control of a liquid binder applied to a bed of fine powder to create complex geometries Furthermore, it does not require extreme heating during the fabrication process. The advantages of binder jetting include that it is low cost, high speed, can be applied to a variety of materials, and the ability to scale easily in size. In this study, a straight minichannel heat sink is manufactured from stainless steel using binder jetting, and this heat sink is experimentally evaluated. The hydraulic performance of the heat sink is tested over different water flow rates (Reynolds numbers between 150-1200). The comparison between the hydraulic results and standard correlations confirms that the targeted geometry was produced, although the high surface roughness created an early transition from laminar-to-turbulent flow. The surface roughness effect should be considered in future designs of additively manufactured minichannels. The heat transfer performance was also experimentally characterized at different heat flux conditions ($3000W/m^2$, $5000W/m^2$, $6500W/m^2$), and different water flow conditions (Reynolds numbers 150-800). These results indicated that convection heat transfer coefficients on the order of $1000 W/m^2-K$ can be obtained with a simple heat sink design. However, a mismatch between the experimental data and the correlation requires further investigation. Finally, the effects of the contact resistance on the results are studied, and contact resistance is shown to have critical importance on the thermal measurements."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:29451"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/102777"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Heat--Transmission","Additive manufacturing","Binder Jetting","Minichannels/Microchannels","Heat Sinks","Electronics Cooling"],"dc:title":["Experimental Evaluation of an Additively Manufactured Straight Mini-Channel Heat Sink for Electronics Cooling"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:45Z"}