Effect of the angle of inclination of a plate shield on the thermal and hydraulic performance of a plate-fin heat sink

Using CFD software FLUENT, we investigated the effect of the angle of inclination of a plate heat shield on the thermal and hydraulic performance of a plate-fin heat sink. The variation of this angle causes a substantial and complicated variation of the flow field in space both upstream and downstream near such a heat sink. This distinctive behavior modifies the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet of the investigated duct, but that variation influences only slightly the flow field in the space from fin to fin, and thus the thermal resistance of the heat sink. This trend is further smoothed with increasing Reynolds number and height of the heat sink. As a compromise between the demands of small thermal resistance and a small pressure drop, the angle of inclination of a plate heat shield must be chosen carefully. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.