Effects of microchannel width on fluid flow and temperature uniformity

AbstractCompact, lightweight and efficient microchannel radiator technology has become an effective way to solve the heat dissipation of microelectronic devices. This article is oriented to the heat dissipation requirements of electronic chips. The heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristic for microchannel heat exchangers with various widths are investigated in this article to obtain an optimal width design. Results show that for the microchannel with the same width, the mass flow rate in the middle channels is larger than that on both sides. The heat transfer can be enhanced and the uniformity of the temperature distribution is improved by increasing the channel width gradually from the central position. A width distribution expression for an optimal reduction percentage of the channel width is formulated using the performance evaluation criterion for non-uniform channels developed in this article. A wave form microchannel was used to validate the formula for optimal structure design, which shows that the formula is suitable for a different type of microchannel.Keywords: Channel optimizationheat transfer enhancementtemperature uniformitymicrochannel heat exchanger Disclosure statementThe authors report there are no competing interests to declare.Additional informationFundingThis article was supported by the Young Teacher Development Fund (AQ08998) from School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M731681).