Flow structure and enhanced heat transfer in channel flow with dimpled surfaces: Application to heat sinks in microelectronic cooling

The use of dimple technology for improvement in friction factors and enhancement of heat transfer has been attracting the attention of many scientists and engineers. Numerical and experimental studies have shown there is a positive improvement (twofold on average) in Nusselt number when dimpled surfaces are compare to flat plates, and this improvement is achieved with pressure drop penalties that are small when compared to other more intrusive types of turbulence promoters. When arrays of specific dimple geometry are used, pressure drop penalties are roughly equivalent to the heat transfer improvement. This, at least theoretically, will enable the design of smaller heat transfer devices such as heat sinks, which are especially appealing in those applications where size is an important design factor. A literature review of numerical modeling and experiments on flow over dimpled surfaces was performed, and key parameters and flow structure were identified and summarized. With these premises, a numerical model was developed. The model was validated with published experimental data from selected papers and fine-tuned for channel flow within the laminar flow regime. Subsequently, the model was then employed for a specific application to heat sinks for microelectronic cooling. This paper, then, provides a comparative evaluation of dimple technology for improving heat transfer in microelectronic systems.