Study of an LED device with vibrating piezoelectric fins

This study examines an innovative design of a proposed vibrating fin for thermal management of an LED device. The vibrating fin, coated with thin copper and composed of piezoelectric material, can vibrate and conduct heat from the finned base using the piezoelectric effect. This innovative heat-dissipation device can easily break the thermal boundary layer to enhance heat-transfer rate by changing the convective heat-transfer coefficient. In this study, three-dimensional transitional models for the vibrating fins are successfully built to investigate the major heat dissipation phenomena. Simulated results show that the performance of the vibrating fins is strongly affected by dimensions, vibrating frequency, pitch, and amplitude of fins. In addition, the thermal performance of fins can be further increased by the proper phase difference between the fins and the direction of gravity. The phase angles of the vibrations affect not only the flow field, but also the temperature distribution around the fins.