Optimum tip gap and orientation of multi-piezofan for heat transfer enhancement of finned heat sink in microelectronic cooling

Abstract Piezoelectric fans can be manipulated to generate airflow for cooling microelectronic devices. Their outstanding features include noise-free operation, low power consumption and suitability for confined spaces. This paper presents experimental optimization of tip gap and orientation angle of three piezoelectric fans (multi-piezofan) to maximize the heat removal performance of finned heat sink for microelectronic cooling. Design of experiments (DOE) approach is used for the optimization, and a three dimensional simulation using FLUENT 6.3.2 is carried out to better understand the flow induced by the multi-piezofan and the resulting heat transfer from the heat sink surface. For the optimization, the Central Composite Design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM) is exploited from the Design Expert software. In the numerical model, the flow induced by the piezofan is treated as incompressible and turbulent; the turbulence is taken care by the shear stress transport (SST) k–ω model. The experimental results are found to be in good agreement with the predictions. Out of 13 experimental trials determined by CCD, the optimum tip gap and fan orientation are found to be δ = 0.17 and 90° respectively. At this condition, an enhancement in convective heat transfer coefficient exceeding 88% is achieved, compared to natural convection.