Heat Dissipation Performance of High-Power CPUs using Finned Copper Foam Heat Sinks

Thermal management has become a major issue in the latest high performance computing machines because high CPU temperatures result in inefficient performance and decreased hardware life span. In this work, the cooling performance of a finned metal foam heat sink (FMFHS) was examined. The pore density values of tested copper metal foam (CMF) samples with different values of PPI 5, 10 and 20, with a constant porosity of 90%. For reference, these samples were measured by a conventional Aluminum plate-fin heat sink (CHS). The work was performed under experimental conditions in which air directed over the heat sink surface at air velocities (2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 m/s). The environmental temperature was fixed at 27 °C. Findings indicated that pore density strongly affected on the cooling behavior. The 5-PPI foam showed an improved thermal performance better than CHS, due to the open pores and increased surface area, which enhance convective heat transfer. By contrast, the 10-PPI demonstrated moderate copper foam performance, placed between PPI 5 and CHS. The 20 PPI foam showed the lowest heat removal rates. Under these conditions, the 5 PPI design presented a 21.6 % increase in Nusselt number and a 16.9 % decrease in total thermal resistance at 3.5 m/s and 120 W compared to CHS. This confirms that using low PPI copper foams, such as 5-PPI in finned geometries, provides a considerable gain in cooling efficiency for high-power electronic components. Therefore, in high-power CPU cooling systems requiring high efficiency and compact size, it is recommended to use low PPI finned CMF heat sinks.