Experimental Investigation of Heat Sinks
with and Without
Perforation—Addressing Toward Higher
Cooling Rates and Optimum Material
Rajshekhar V. Unni and M. Sreedhar Babu
Abstract This paper reports an attempt made to investigate the effect of fins with
and without perforation on the convection coefficient (h) for cooling purpose. Experiments were conducted considering two specimens with six fins, one with solid fins
and the other with perforations (of 8 and 10 mm diameters) on fins. The convection coefficient in terms of Nusselt number and Rayleigh number was also studied
and compared with available literature work. It was found that experiments with
perforated fins increased the convection coefficient up to 36%.
Keywords Convection coefficient (heat-transfer coefficient) · Heat sink ·
Cooling · Nusselt number · Rayleigh number
1 Introduction
The components (especially electronic) are continuously exposed to thermal environment need cooling. Their prolonged usage causes malfunctioning due to overheating of the components and eventually leading to technical failure. To address
such needs, methods such as natural and forced convection are generally employed.
The cooling process via forced convection is a costly affair and sensitive, as the
operations are completely dependent on rotating element (or fan). In applications,
such as nuclear and steam power plants, natural convection method is preferred for
specific components.
In case of natural convection, heat sinks (HS) with extended surfaces or fins are
most effective to facilitate heat transfer. HS of various types are adopted for cooling
of transformers, computers, LED bulbs, printed circuit boards and transistors. Use of
HS is economical and also space saving. When HS or fin arrays are used for cooling
R. V. Unni (B) · M. Sreedhar Babu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jain College of Engineering, Belagavi, Karnataka
590014, India
e-mail: rajshekhar.rvu@jainbgm.in
M. Sreedhar Babu
e-mail: sreedhar@jainbgm.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. K. Parwani et al. (eds.), Recent Advances in Mechanical Infrastructure,
Lecture Notes in Intelligent Transportation and Infrastructure,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4176-0_23
275
with and Without
Perforation—Addressing Toward Higher
Cooling Rates and Optimum Material
Rajshekhar V. Unni and M. Sreedhar Babu
Abstract This paper reports an attempt made to investigate the effect of fins with
and without perforation on the convection coefficient (h) for cooling purpose. Experiments were conducted considering two specimens with six fins, one with solid fins
and the other with perforations (of 8 and 10 mm diameters) on fins. The convection coefficient in terms of Nusselt number and Rayleigh number was also studied
and compared with available literature work. It was found that experiments with
perforated fins increased the convection coefficient up to 36%.
Keywords Convection coefficient (heat-transfer coefficient) · Heat sink ·
Cooling · Nusselt number · Rayleigh number
1 Introduction
The components (especially electronic) are continuously exposed to thermal environment need cooling. Their prolonged usage causes malfunctioning due to overheating of the components and eventually leading to technical failure. To address
such needs, methods such as natural and forced convection are generally employed.
The cooling process via forced convection is a costly affair and sensitive, as the
operations are completely dependent on rotating element (or fan). In applications,
such as nuclear and steam power plants, natural convection method is preferred for
specific components.
In case of natural convection, heat sinks (HS) with extended surfaces or fins are
most effective to facilitate heat transfer. HS of various types are adopted for cooling
of transformers, computers, LED bulbs, printed circuit boards and transistors. Use of
HS is economical and also space saving. When HS or fin arrays are used for cooling
R. V. Unni (B) · M. Sreedhar Babu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Jain College of Engineering, Belagavi, Karnataka
590014, India
e-mail: rajshekhar.rvu@jainbgm.in
M. Sreedhar Babu
e-mail: sreedhar@jainbgm.in
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
A. K. Parwani et al. (eds.), Recent Advances in Mechanical Infrastructure,
Lecture Notes in Intelligent Transportation and Infrastructure,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4176-0_23
275