Thermal dissipation is essential to electronic devices to keep them working at their highest capability and to prevent them from malfunctioning. Electronic devices have become smaller and more powerful in recent years, leading to a higher rate of thermal dissipation occurring in a smaller area. A micro channel heat sink is a component that can be used to dissipate thermal energy from small electronic devices.
The rate of heat transfer through a heat sink is highly influenced by the design of it. The present paper presents a techno economic analysis of several micro channel heat sink designs and focuses on determining the optimum design in regards
to thermal performance and purchasing price. Simulations of the designs are conducted in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CF D) with a uniform heat flux and a fixed pumping power as operating conditions. The thermal resistance of multiple designs is compared and additionally set in relation to the purchasing price from an exemplary manufacturer.
The analysis showed a decreasing thermal resistance within the heat sink at an increasing number of channels incorporated in the design. However, at one point, the analyzed heat sinks’ purchasing prices rise disproportionally compared to a neglectable increase of their thermal performance. The optimal micro channel heat sink design in regards to both thermal dissipation and purchasing price was identified to have 50 channels and a 0.7 width ratio between channels and fins.