Effect of fin profile in a plate pin fin heat sink for performance enhancement: an experimental and numerical analysis

The present investigation introduces an innovative approach to improving the thermal performance of heat sinks for electronic cooling by using an array of various pin fin profiles – square, circular, triangular, and NACA 0040—arranged in the stream wise direction between consecutive parallel plate fins. The systematic comparison of these pin fin profiles, combined with an exploration of a wide range of parameters and Reynolds numbers while maintaining a consistent pin fin blockage area, constitutes a novel approach to enhancing heat sink performance. The study examines parameters such as stream wise pitch ratio (Px/Lhs) from 0.24 to 0.28 and the profile thickness ratio (b/Sf) between 0.3 and 0.5, with the span wise pitch fixed at 11.9 mm. The Reynolds number (Re) varies from 300 to 3300. CFD results show that the NACA 0040 pin fin profile outperforms the other profiles in terms of thermal performance within the specified range. Experimental validation of the NACA 0040 profile yielded a maximum thermo-hydraulic performance parameter (THPP) of 1.41 at Px/Lhs = 0.26 and b/Sf = 0.4, achieved at a Reynolds number of 2700.