Topology optimization of a novel bionic fractal microchannel applied in thermal management of electronic components

Abstract Reducing energy consumption and improving device efficiency are important ways to realize efficient heat dissipation of microdevices, this paper developed a new bionic fractal microchannel heat sink based on fractal theory and topological optimization ideas, which introduced a binary flow stagnation zone optimization based on topological optimization ideas on the basic fractal microchannel. The thermal and hydraulic properties of a nanofluid in a fractal microchannel heat sink (FMCHS) have been numerically simulated with the fractal dimensions ( f d = 1, 1.5, and 2) and Reynolds number ( Re = 200–1600) as variables, and the comprehensive performance has been analyzed. The results showed that the introduction of the optimization increases the central velocity of the microchannel by 7.14–18.2%. With fractal dimensions of 1.5 and 2, the flow improvement and velocity increase are significant, and a significant Nusselt number improvement is obtained. The best comprehensive performance is obtained for FMCHS with a fractal dimension of 1.5, with an optimization effect of 8.3%.