A CFD Study For The Design Of Optimized Heat Sinks Made Of PM Cu And PM Al

Authors:

Markus Schneider (GKN Powder Metallurgy GmbH, Germany)
Virgil Savu (GKN Powder Metallurgy, USA)
Ian Donaldson (GKN Powder Metallurgy, USA)
Alessandro DeNicolo (GKN Powder Metallurgy, Italy)
Omar Franceschi (GKN Powder Metallurgy, Italy)
Tom Fonville (GKN Powder Metallurgy, USA)

Abstract:

The usage of heat sinks and heat exchangers to dissipate or to distribute heat is mandatory when designing devices in the field of power electronics. In the case of complex geometries, it is possible to increase the heat-transferring surface by using rips, pins and fins. These complex geometries can be realized with various PM shaping technologies, e.g. P&S, MIM or AM. However, this also changes the flow conditions, i.e. the pressure drop due to the drag effect of the pins must be kept as low as possible. This optimisation task and a proper pin design in general can be done by using numerical CFD calculations. The achievable thermal conductivity of the used PM Cu or PM Al material limits the height of the pins. This paper presents a large CFD study on a variety of pin structures which can be made by PM.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59499/EP256782426