Thermal and Hydrodynamic Performance Analysis of Water-Cooled Heat Sinks Using Aluminum and Structural Steel Materials

Water-cooled heat sinks are efficient cooling solutions for high-heat dissipation applications in industrial and electronic systems.This study investigates water-cooled heat sinks' thermal and hydrodynamic performance through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations.The fluid flow distribution, heat transfer characteristics, and thermal efficiency of various cooling channel geometries were examined under controlled conditions, including a mass flow rate of 0.05 kg/s, an inlet fluid temperature of 22, and a convection film coefficient of 80 W/m between the fluid and heat sink.Additionally, the convection coefficient between the heat sink body and its fins to the environment was set at 10 W/m, with an ambient temperature of 22 and a heat flux of 10,000 W/m applied to the heat sink's base.The analysis reveals that the coolant channel geometry, flow velocity, and the materials' thermophysical properties strongly influence the system's thermal performance and pressure drop.The optimized channel configuration significantly enhanced the heat dissipation efficiency, achieving an increase of 49.1% and a temperature reduction of 59.Furthermore, a thermal efficiency of 40.97% and an overall system efficiency of 45.04% were attained.These findings highlight the substantial role of optimized channel geometries in enhancing the performance of water-cooled heat sinks, leading to more efficient and effective cooling systems.The study demonstrates that CFD simulations can be a powerful tool in identifying key design parameters that maximize heat transfer efficiency in water-cooled heat sinks.