Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid

Microelectronic technologies are progressing rapidly. As devices shrink in size, they produce a substantial heat flux that can adversely affect performance and shorten their lifespan. Conventional cooling methods, such as forced-air heat transfer and essential heat sinks, are inadequate for managing...

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Main Authors: Eid S. Alatawi, Barna Sannyashi, Rehena Nasrin, Most. Zannatul Ferdoushi, Zhi-Gang Feng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Energies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1727
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author Eid S. Alatawi
Barna Sannyashi
Rehena Nasrin
Most. Zannatul Ferdoushi
Zhi-Gang Feng
author_facet Eid S. Alatawi
Barna Sannyashi
Rehena Nasrin
Most. Zannatul Ferdoushi
Zhi-Gang Feng
author_sort Eid S. Alatawi
collection DOAJ
description Microelectronic technologies are progressing rapidly. As devices shrink in size, they produce a substantial heat flux that can adversely affect performance and shorten their lifespan. Conventional cooling methods, such as forced-air heat transfer and essential heat sinks, are inadequate for managing the elevated heat flux generated by these devices. Consequently, microchannel heat sinks have been developed to address this challenge. The present research is intended to study forced flow convection and heat transfer in a cone–column combined microchannel heat sink (MCHS). This study examines a regularly shaped MCHS to evaluate its heat transfer rate. The heat transfer medium employed is a graphene–water nanofluid, and the heat sink’s base is assumed to maintain a constant heat flux. The Galerkin weighted finite element method solves the nanofluid’s governing partial differential equations. This thesis investigates the impact of varying intake velocities on the Reynolds number (100 ≤ <i>Re</i> ≤ 900), externally applied heat flux (10<sup>4</sup> ≤ <i>q</i> ≤ 10<sup>6</sup>), and the volumetric ratio of nanoparticles (0.001 ≤ <i>φ</i> ≤ 0.04). The study conducts a mathematical analysis to explore how these parameters affect pressure drop, friction factor, average Nusselt number, average substrate temperature, and heat transfer enhancement. The findings are compared with those of a conventional MCHS as the <i>Re</i> increases. The results are analyzed and visually represented through isothermal lines for temperature contours and streamlines for velocity. An increase in the inlet velocity of the water–graphene nanofluid significantly enhances heat transfer and thermal efficiency, achieving improvements of approximately 27.00% and 21.21%, respectively. The research demonstrates that utilizing water–G as a smart coolant with the cone–column combined MCHS enhances thermal efficiency by 4.05% compared to standard water. A comparison of the hydraulic performance index at the substrate reveals that the cone–column combined MCHS is significantly more effective at dissipating heat than the traditional MCHS.
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spelling doaj-art-c5aa618d626a48a19ef5b49c2acca2a12025-08-20T02:15:55ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-03-01187172710.3390/en18071727Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water NanofluidEid S. Alatawi0Barna Sannyashi1Rehena Nasrin2Most. Zannatul Ferdoushi3Zhi-Gang Feng4Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshDepartment of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshDepartment of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, BangladeshDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249, USAMicroelectronic technologies are progressing rapidly. As devices shrink in size, they produce a substantial heat flux that can adversely affect performance and shorten their lifespan. Conventional cooling methods, such as forced-air heat transfer and essential heat sinks, are inadequate for managing the elevated heat flux generated by these devices. Consequently, microchannel heat sinks have been developed to address this challenge. The present research is intended to study forced flow convection and heat transfer in a cone–column combined microchannel heat sink (MCHS). This study examines a regularly shaped MCHS to evaluate its heat transfer rate. The heat transfer medium employed is a graphene–water nanofluid, and the heat sink’s base is assumed to maintain a constant heat flux. The Galerkin weighted finite element method solves the nanofluid’s governing partial differential equations. This thesis investigates the impact of varying intake velocities on the Reynolds number (100 ≤ <i>Re</i> ≤ 900), externally applied heat flux (10<sup>4</sup> ≤ <i>q</i> ≤ 10<sup>6</sup>), and the volumetric ratio of nanoparticles (0.001 ≤ <i>φ</i> ≤ 0.04). The study conducts a mathematical analysis to explore how these parameters affect pressure drop, friction factor, average Nusselt number, average substrate temperature, and heat transfer enhancement. The findings are compared with those of a conventional MCHS as the <i>Re</i> increases. The results are analyzed and visually represented through isothermal lines for temperature contours and streamlines for velocity. An increase in the inlet velocity of the water–graphene nanofluid significantly enhances heat transfer and thermal efficiency, achieving improvements of approximately 27.00% and 21.21%, respectively. The research demonstrates that utilizing water–G as a smart coolant with the cone–column combined MCHS enhances thermal efficiency by 4.05% compared to standard water. A comparison of the hydraulic performance index at the substrate reveals that the cone–column combined MCHS is significantly more effective at dissipating heat than the traditional MCHS.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1727microchannel heat sinkgraphene–water nanofluidthermal efficiencyFEM
spellingShingle Eid S. Alatawi
Barna Sannyashi
Rehena Nasrin
Most. Zannatul Ferdoushi
Zhi-Gang Feng
Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
Energies
microchannel heat sink
graphene–water nanofluid
thermal efficiency
FEM
title Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
title_full Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
title_fullStr Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
title_full_unstemmed Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
title_short Efficiency Enhancement of a Cone–Column Combined Microchannel Heat Sink Featuring Graphene–Water Nanofluid
title_sort efficiency enhancement of a cone column combined microchannel heat sink featuring graphene water nanofluid
topic microchannel heat sink
graphene–water nanofluid
thermal efficiency
FEM
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1727
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AT rehenanasrin efficiencyenhancementofaconecolumncombinedmicrochannelheatsinkfeaturinggraphenewaternanofluid
AT mostzannatulferdoushi efficiencyenhancementofaconecolumncombinedmicrochannelheatsinkfeaturinggraphenewaternanofluid
AT zhigangfeng efficiencyenhancementofaconecolumncombinedmicrochannelheatsinkfeaturinggraphenewaternanofluid