Experimental analysis of shrouded pin fin heat sinks for electronic equipment cooling

In the present work, heat transfer and fluid flow in square pin fin heat sinks are analyzed through an experimental method. Twenty aluminum square pin fin heat sinks having a 101.43 mm × 101.43 mm base size are tested with inlet velocity ranging from 1 m/s to 5 m/s. In each test, the heat sink is heated uniformly at the bottom. From the experimental results, effects of the height of the heat sink and the ratio of the spacing between the adjacent fins to the fin pitch on the pressure drop across the heat sink and the thermal resistance of the heat sink are investigated. In addition, design guidelines for shrouded square pin fin heat sinks are suggested considering both pumping power and thermal resistance.