Optimization design of microchannel cooling heat sink

Purpose - This paper sets out to optimize the shape and size of microchannels cooling heat sink, which has been widely used to cool electronic chip for its high heat transfer coefficient and compact structure. Design/methodology/approach - Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) method is used to optimize the cross-section sizes of microchannels. Finite volume method is used to numerically simulate the cooling performance of optimal microchannel cooling heat sink. Findings - The optimized cross-section shape of microchannel is rectangular, and the width and depth of microchannel is 50 and 1,000 μm, respectively, the number of microchannels is 60, and the corresponding least thermal resistance is 0.115996°C/W. The results show that the heat transfer performance of microchannel cooling heat sink is affected intensively by its cross-section shape and dimension. The convection heat resistance R _conv between inner surface in microchannels and working fluid has more influence in the total heat resistance. The heat flux of chip is 278 W/cm² and, through the optimization microchannel cooling heat sink, the highest temperature in the chip can be kept below 42°C, which is about half of that without optimizing heat sink and can ensure the stability and reliability of chip. Research limitations/implications - The convection heat transfer coefficient is calculated approximatively here for convenience, and that may induce some errors. Originality/value - The optimized microchannels cooling heat sink may satisfy the request for removal of high heat flux in new-generation chips.