Mechanical Engineering:

Title:           On Simple Visualization Method for Temperature Field around Miniature Heat Sink under Natural Convection
Authors:      Naoko Matsumoto, Toshio Tomimura, Kei Torigoe, Chiaki Mizuochi, Yasushi Koito
Abstract:     It is important to understand the temperature and flow fields around natural convection fins to create a high performance heat sink with optimized fin shape and arrangement. Currently researchers might well be able to know the flow condition by the numerical analysis and the experimental approach. In those methods, however, expensive apparatus and skills acquisition are usually required. So, those kinds of methods are not necessarily suitable for grasping approximate temperature filed simply and quickly. To deal with this problem, we have proposed a simple method for visualizing the temperature filed of a hot air jet by combining a resin mesh screen and an infrared thermograph. In the present study, a series of experiments have been conducted to investigate whether the method is applicable or not for visualizing the temperature filed around a miniature heat sink under natural convection. In our previous study, it has been clarified that the miniature heat sink with several hundred micro meters pin fins had no effect on the heat transfer enhancement. It is considered that, from a series of numerical analyses, the result was brought by the choking phenomenon which inhibits air flow between pins. In this study, the temperature filed around miniature pin fins under natural convection was visualized by applying the proposed method, and further the experimental results were compared with those obtained by numerical analysis.

Keywords:   Visualization method, Temperature field, Mesh screen, Thermograph, Heat sink
Pages:         099-102

Download Full Paper