Needle-ring ionic wind cooler for enhancing thermal management: A systematic optimization strategy via orthogonal and Box-Behnken designs

Enhancing heat dissipation efficiency remains a critical challenge in modern compact electronics. Ionic wind cooling offers a compelling solution thanks to its lack of moving parts, low noise, and high energy‐conversion efficiency, yet commercialization is constrained by complex multi‐physics coupling and limited parametric studies. This study systematically investigated the influence of needle ring structural parameters (needle tip radius, electrode gap, ring radius and ring height) on ionic wind performance using orthogonal analysis method, and established a structure ionic wind response surface prediction model based on Box Behnken experimental design. The optimized ionic wind radiator has a maximum wind speed of 7.42 m/s and a heat transfer coefficient of 50 W/(m 2 ·K), which is equivalent to the level of mainstream air-cooled radiators (e.g., small-scale axial fans); Compared to natural convection, its heat transfer coefficient has increased by about 6 times. The proposed approach provides an efficient and generalizable strategy for designing high-performance, non-mechanical cooling systems, with strong potential for application in next-generation electronic thermal management. • A hybrid statistical strategy was established to systematically decouple the geometric factors of ionic wind generators. • Downstream vortices were identified as the primary mechanism causing kinetic energy dissipation in flow-rate-optimized structures. • The velocity-optimized prototype achieved a heat transfer coefficient of 50 W/(m 2 ·K), matching mainstream mechanical air-cooling standards.