Enhanced CPU cooling using water-based heat sinks with swirl flow, porous foam, and dimpled surfaces

Effective thermal management of Central Processing Units (CPUs) is critical for sustaining peak performance and avoiding heat-related deterioration, especially with the growing demands of modern computing. This study presents a numerical study of a water-based heat sink utilized for CPU cooling, employing three advanced heat transfer enhancement methods: (1) the use of a swirl-generating device at the inlet to promote secondary flow and strengthen convection, (2) dimpled internal surfaces to disturb the boundary layer, and (3) the incorporation of porous foam to amplify heat absorption and fluid mixing. The computational model was validated using experimental benchmarks, showing strong agreement with observed thermal behavior. The simulation results reveal that the swirl device lowers the peak CPU temperature by roughly 3.55 %, while the porous foam achieves a similar reduction of 3.43 %, underscoring their efficacy in enhancing heat removal. In contrast, the use of dimples yielded negligible improvements in cooling, indicating limited effectiveness within this system setup. Nonetheless, both the swirl flow and porous foam methods significantly increased the system's pressure drop by factors of about 9.39 and 4.55, respectively, compared to a conventional heat sink. Among the tested configurations, the porous foam-based solution delivered the most balanced performance, not only decreasing CPU temperature but also improving temperature uniformity by 21.44 %, which is essential for minimizing hotspots and reducing thermal stress. These outcomes emphasize the value of advanced thermal management techniques in CPU cooling. By achieving more efficient heat dissipation while managing pressure loss, the findings offer a solid framework for designing next-generation heat sink solutions aimed at enhancing CPU reliability and efficiency in high-performance computing environments.