The Effects of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Heat transfer of Aluminium Heat Sink

Abstract

Thermal management is critical for achieving peak performance and extending the life of electronic equipment. Heat sinks are the most effective thermal control tools. Copper and aluminium are the most used materials for heat sinks. Aluminium, in particular, attracts a lot of attention due to its lightweight and recyclability, which assures sustainability. Because of its robustness, malleability, and good thermal conductivity, the aluminium 6000 series is ideal for use in heat sink manufacturing. In this research, raw material consisting of Al6060 is turned into a square pin fin heat sink with 25 pin fins using a CNC milling machine. The natural convection heat transfer efficiency of the heat sink was identified with a specially constructed experimental setup. Four different heat inputs (15 W, 25 W, 35 W, and 45 W) were analyzed. The novelty of this work is that the heat sink undergoes deep cryogenic treatment (DCT). The soaking duration in liquid nitrogen is set at 24 hours. The heat transfer efficiency of DCT treated aluminium heat sink is compared with the bare aluminium heat sink. The testing findings revealed that when the heat input was 15W, the DCT treated square pin fin heat sink had a charging cycle that was up to 77.78 % longer than the untreated heat sink. At 25W, 35 W, and 45 W heat input, the charging cycle was 48 %, 39 %, and 28 % longer, respectively. Analyzing the discharge cycle revealed that only the 15 W heat input had an ideal discharge cycle, which was 20 % shorter than the untreated heat sink. The results are compared with the results of heat sink coupled with phase change materials (PCM) from the literature. The analysis revealed that for the DCT treated heat sink, heat input in the range of 15 W increased performance equivalent to that of PCM coupled heat sink.