Mahyar Pourghasemi
The University of New Mexico, MSC01 1120, 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-0001, USA
Nima Fathi
The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Mani Razi
Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Here we present the results of computational analyses of the fluid and heat transfer of water in miniature heat sinks with hydrophobic surfaces. The accuracy and reliability of obtained numerical results are verified and validated against the available experimental data. The performed numerical analyses include the hydraulic diameter range of 133-407 µm and Reynolds number of 100 to 1200. The obtained results suggest that hydrophobic surfaces can enhance the overall thermal efficiency of micro-scale heat sinks up to 16% by
reducing the required pumping power while enhancing the convective heat transfer rate. In comparison with hydrophilic microchannels, it is observed that higher mass flow rates and higher convective heat transfer coefficients can be achieved in micro-scale heat sinks with hydrophobic surfaces.
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