Performance improvement of a heat sink with triangular slotted and interrupted fins: A computational study

The present study reports a three-dimensional computational analysis of free convection heat transfer from heat sinks with vertical fins mounted on a vertical base. The difference in the base and ambient temperature varies from 10 °C to 60 °C. This work proposes four novel geometrical modifications on the continuous rectangular fins intending to augment the heat transfer rate. These modifications include (a) providing triangular slots, (b) changing the value of minimum thickness at the neck of the slotted fin, (c) offsetting the position of the neck, and (d) interrupting the slotted fins. Thus, the work investigates the thermal performances of six different heat sink configurations concerning heat dissipation rate (Q), specific heat transfer rate (Q/m), average Nusselt number (Nu), the weight of the heat sink, and effectiveness. In all these cases, the heat sink volume remains the same. The current analysis shows that the heat sink with a single slot, with the neck at the base (ε=0) and having interruptions, dissipates the maximum heat (14.89% higher than the conventional continuous fin heat sink) with a weight reduction of 24.1%. The present study also proposes a correlation for the average Nusselt number in terms of relevant parameters, which has an accuracy of 6 %.