Thermal performance limits of polymer composite pin fin heat sinks

The thermal performance limits of air cooled heat sinks made of a polyphenylene sulphide composite (PPS, 20W/mK), are predicted and compared to aluminum and copper pin fin heat sinks, using a defined heat sink volume and a range of pumping powers. The thermal performance is analytically predicted across an extensive parametric space in terms of the primary thermal metrics and identifies the thermal performance limits. PPS heat sinks are seen to constitute a viable alternative material for energy efficient heat sink design and show comparable thermal performance to aluminum and copper heat sinks at low fin densities and pumping power. The analytical model used to predict the heat sink thermal performance is seen to provide good agreement with typical aluminum pin fin heat sink experimental and CFD modeling results.