Influences of Secondary Channels and Integrated Obstacles on the Hydrothermal Performance of an Arced Serpentine Minichannel Heat Sink

ABSTRACT This study investigates the combined effect of secondary channels and elliptical obstacles on an arced serpentine minichannel heat sink. Numerical investigation is performed by utilizing three‐dimensional ANSYS software to model heat transfer and laminar flow within the arced channels. Experiments are conducted to validate the current numerical results. Different changes are implemented on the geometrical configuration of the serpentine channels to serve as different passive techniques. These changes include the use of arced channels instead of parallel channels in the traditional design. Arced channels feature secondary channels of diverse dimensions (1, 1.5, and 2 mm) and inclinations (30°, 45°, 60°, and 75°). Moreover, various obstacles are employed, including elliptical cavities, elliptical cavities with ribs, and elliptical cavities with fins. Investigation is performed at different Reynolds number values with a constant heat flux of 20 kW/m 2 . Current findings demonstrate good agreement between numerical and experimental results. The secondary channels reduce pressure drop () in all the proposed passive methods. Even when obstacles are added, reduction in the cavity and fin model, that is, AC‐SCF, is 40% lower than that in the traditional case. The addition of secondary channels and obstacles to the arced channels improves the flow path compared with the traditional setup, enhancing heat transfer and lowering the surface temperature of the heat sink. The flow path increases by 10.5% in the arced channels with cavities and secondary channels, that is, the AC‐SC case. The Nusselt number is improved by 11.4%, 14.6%, and 17.8% for the AC‐SC, AC‐SR, and AC‐SCF cases, respectively. The outcomes also indicate that employing a secondary size of 1 mm at an angle of 75° relative to the flow direction in the channels yields a hydrothermal performance factor () of up to 1.4. rises to 1.45 when employing a combined configuration that incorporates elliptical cavities, ribs, and secondary channels.