Effects of metal foam filling heights and tilt angles on the cooling performance of a heat sink filled with nanofluids

To enhance the cooling performance of heat sink in the field of thermal management of electronic components, a novel heat exchanger system with different filling heights and tilt angles was proposed in this study. TiO2-H2O nanofluids (ω = 0.3 wt%) were selected as the cooling medium, and porous media metal foam (copper, ε = 90%, PPI = 30) was chosen as the enhanced heat dissipation structure. The effects of the different filling heights (H = 2 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm), different tilt angles (θ = 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°) on the cooling performance of nanofluids in a heat sink were studied experimentally, and a comprehensive performance evaluation criterion (PEC) was adopted to analyze the comprehensive performance of heat sink. Research outcomes showed that metal foam with filling height H = 6 mm instead of the highest filling height shows the best comprehensive performance, and the comprehensive performance firstly increases and then decreases with the increase of the filling height. Increasing tilt angle of heat sink is disadvantage to the cooling performance, and heat sink with a tilt angle of θ = 0° shows the best comprehensive performance. The results of this paper provide some reference for the application of nanofluids and porous media in the field of thermal management of electronic components.