Numerical Study of 3D Heat Transfer in Heat Sinks with Circular Profile Fins Using CFD

A 3D numerical study using computational fluid dynamics simulations is carried out on a heat sink with circular fins. These devices are used to reject heat on motherboards and graphics cards. The software used in this investigation was ANSYS Fluent-CFD, with energy- and momentum-conservation models, as well as two-equation κ−ϵ turbulence models. Three temperatures are set at the base of the heat sink: 80 °C, 90 °C, and 100 °C; as well as three air velocities for cooling: 10 m/s, 15 m/s, and 20 m/s. The analysis determined that the temperature at the fins depends on the length of time the heat sink is exposed to high temperatures. Furthermore, the temperature in the center of the heat sink is lower than at the edges. On the other hand, the analysis times with periods of 2 s, 5 s, and 10 s, this variable being the most fluctuating since significant changes in the temperature of the fins and the surrounding air are observed; increases are determined ranging from 7.96% for the shortest time of exposure to forced convective air, up to 54.55%, for the longest heat-transfer time. However, in the simulations it was observed that from the eighth second the heat transfer stabilizes.