Thermal Performance Measurement for Confined Heat Sinks by Using a Modified Transient Liquid Crystal Technique

A series of experimental investigations with a new modified transient liquid crystal method on the studies related to the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in a channel installed with a heat sink have been successfully performed. The parametric studies on the local and average effective heat transfer characteristics for confined heat sinks have been explored. The influencing parameters and conditions include air preheating temperature at channel inlet, flow velocity and heat sink types. Besides, a concept of the amount of enhanced heat transfer (AEHT) is introduced and defined as the ratio of j/f. The j/f ratio is almost independent of Reynolds number for a specific confined heat sink. The j/f ratios are 0.0603 and 0.0124 for fully-confined and unconfined heat sinks, respectively.© 2003 ASME