Thermal performance of perforated pin finned heat sinks: A simulation

based study
Aashish Kumar*, Usha Dasari & Manoj Kumar Mondal
Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship,
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, WB, India

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract Keywords: Perforated pin fin heat sinks, heat

transfer rate, COMSOL, finite element method
One of the major concerns of electronic systems is
their ever-increasing demand for a competent
thermal management solution at a miniaturized Introduction
scale to evade failures due to formation of hot spots.
Thus, employing heat sinks with better thermal The removal of excessive heat from system
performance can boost the efficiency of the system components is essential to avoid the damaging
and helps in improving its reliability. Higher effects of burning or overheating. Therefore,
efficiency in heat transfer can enhance the hitherto improving the system to deal with high heat transfer
poor coefficient of performance (COP) of is of great importance. Thus, by increasing the heat
thermoelectric cooling and heating. Many transfer coefficient between a surface and its
researches have suggested that by modifying the surroundings, by increasing the heat transfer area of
heat sink design, the heat transfer can be improved the surface, or by both, can be used to enhance the
radically. This study aims to add necessary heat transfer characteristics. In most cases, the area
understanding of unidirectional heat transfer flow in of heat transfer is increased by using extended
heat sink for ensuring better regulation of surfaces in the form of fins attached to walls and
temperature in the heating devices without thermal- surfaces [1].
runaway. In this investigation, the heat transfer
improvement is studied in naturally convected heat Convection is one of the primary modes of
sink with perforated fin and their thermal heat transfer between a surface and a fluid moving
characteristics are compared with the non- over it. The energy transfer in convection is
perforated/solid pin fin heat sink made of copper predominantly due to the bulk motion of the fluid
and aluminium. The heat sinks are designed to study particles though the molecular conduction within the
the difference in thermal behaviour with increment fluid itself. If this motion is primarily caused due to
in number of perforations in presence of air as the the density variations associated with temperature
working fluid. These heat sink cases are simulated gradient within the fluid, the mode of heat transfer is
for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis said to be due to free or natural convection. On the
in COMSOL 4.4 environment. From the results, it is other hand fluid motion produced by some
evident that the improvement of heat transfer rates superimposed velocity field (like a fan or a pump),
with increased number of perforation is consistent the energy transport is said to be due to forced
in case of both copper and aluminium. A convection [2, 3]. Heat sinks are sustainable, robust,
relationship is established between optimized and cost effective natural convection cooling
number of perforations and material with its effect solutions for electronic and photonic systems.
on their corresponding heat transfer rates. The Enhancing the heat transfer rate from air-cooled heat
outcome of the research will be useful in designing sinks is necessary due to the low thermal
heat sink for cooling CPUs, microcontrollers, performances of air as the coolant. Thus, increasing
various electrical implements and improving COP heat transfer coefficient requires installation of a
of thermoelectric cooling and heating systems. pump or fan, or to increase the surface area by
However, further investigation seems necessary to attaching to the surface extended surfaces called fins
achieve better performance. made of highly conductive materials (such as
aluminium or copper) to cumulatively boost the heat
transfer [4, 5]. However, the performance of natural
convection cooled heat sinks is considerably geometrical considerations viz. fin length,
dependent on different structures of fins attached to dimension, design and material. Peterson and Ortega
it. Also, a number of recent studies have explored [15] have reviewed the use of natural convection,
the performance benefits of perforated plate fins among other approaches, to cooling electronic
heat sinks (PFHSs) and perforated pinned heat sinks equipment. Fisher and Torrance [16] presented
(PHSs). From such investigations, it is evident that analytical solutions free convection limits for pin fin
perforations can increase simultaneously heat cooling. They suggested that proper choosing of
transfer and reduce the mechanical fan power both fin diameter and porosity could optimize the
needed to overcome the pressure losses. Also, pin fin heat sink design. Sparrow and Vemuri [17]
elliptical perforations also demonstrate encouraging studied the natural air-cooled heat transfer
results where turbulence plays its role, but still the characteristics of pin fin arrays in three different
circular perforations were found to be better [6, 7]. orientations. Huang et al. [18] provided
The plate fins in PFHSs can be perforated experimental study on natural convective
longitudinally, along the fins, or laterally across performance of square pin fin heat sinks with
them. On the other hand, perforations in pin fin heat various orientations. Shen et al. [19] studied the
sink can be of various geometries and number along effects of the orientation angle on the fluid flow and
the pins. Heat sinks with perforation can dissipate heat transfer of rectangular fin heat sinks under
the heat rapidly to surrounding fluid by disturbing natural convection. Sertkaya et al. [20]
the fluid flow along with reduction of size, weight experimentally investigated heat transfer by natural
and cost as other additional paybacks. convection in air from pin-finned surface under
various orientation angles. As per experimental
analysis conducted by Elshafei [21] and Kou et al.
Literature Review [22], heat sinks with perforated pin fins exhibits
The experimental and computational studies done so better cooling performance than their solid pin fin
far have shown that perforating plates and pins on heat sink. Al-Damook et al. [23] studied the
heat sinks can offer significant benefits as compared significance of multiple perforations of the pin fin
to that of the solid fins. Shaeri & Yaghoubi [8, 9] heat sinks and found that perforations can increase
and Shaeri & Jen [10, 11] linked the effect of the the heat transfer as well as reduce the overall power
number of perforations with their size, while Farhad consumption needed for mechanical fan. Ahmed et
Ismail et al. [12, 13] considered the influence of al. [24] studied the thermal design optimization on a
perforation shape on heat transfer and frictional drag ribbed flat-plate fin heat sink. Kobus and Oshio [25]
on the air for both laminar and turbulent flow cases. considered effect of radiation effect and carried out
It is found that a single perforation in a plate fin a theoretical and experimental study that is capable
could increase the heat transfer rate by up to 80%. of forecasting the influence of several physical and
These studies found that increasing the number of thermal parameters affecting the thermal resistance
perforations in plate fins leads to reductions in the of a pin-fin array heat sink.
size of the fin and the length of the recirculation zone
The above literature review suggest that
around the fin. Dhanawade and Dhanawade [14]
several studies supported the physical modification
experimentally determined the effect of lateral
of fin arrays in terms of their geometry and
circular perforations for plate fins on heat transfer
arrangement, but still there is a lack of knowledge
and found that perforations generally increase the
for the natural convection heat transfer of the heat
Nusselt number and that the optimum perforation
sink from multiple perforation perspective. The
diameter is a function of the applied heat flux density
current work is associated with simulating
with larger perforations being beneficial for low heat
perforated copper and aluminium heat sink and their
fluxes and smaller perforations better for high heat
respective thermal characteristics on natural
fluxes. These studies establish that increasing the
convection.
number of perforations in plate fins leads to
reductions in the size of the fin and the length of the Model Geometry
recirculation zone around the fin.
The models are simulated using COMSOL software
Conventionally, the performance to determine the thermal characteristics for different
parameters of a heat sink are primarily reliant on its pin perforations. The model consists of a heat sink
with 49-pin fin array. The geometric assembly of the = 4.12 * 10 -4 m2
model is represented in below diagram:
Since 49 fins are present,

S2 = 49 * 4.12 * 10-4 m2

= 201.88 m2

 Total surface area of heat sink with solid

fins = S1+ S2 = 248.33 * 10-2 m2

And, cylindrical fin with 1 perforation surface area

= Surface area of cylinder  area of base of cylinder
+ surface area of cylindrical perforation
Fig 1: Geometry of perforated pin fin Heat sink – 2 * area of circular perforation

S = 4.12 + (2rh + 2r2)  2 * r2

= 4.12 + 0.57 – 0.26

= 4.43 * 10 -4 m2

Since 49 fins are present,

S2 = 49 * 4.43 * 10-4 m2

= 217.07 * 10-4 m2
Fig 2: Mesh structure of perforated pin fin Heat sink
 Total surface area of heat sink with one
Design parameters: perforation = S1+ S2 = 263.7 * 10-4 m2

The model geometry consists of a heat sink base of Similarly, the total surface area of heat sink can be
dimension 7.5 cm * 7.5 cm * 0.5 cm. The cylindrical tabularized in Table1:
pin fin heat sink have radius = 0.25cm, height =
2.5cm and are located at an equidistant from each Table1: Perforation and effective surface area of the heat
other with seven in number in each row or column. sink
For perforated heat sink fins, the perforations are
equidistant depending on number of perforations, Perforation No 1-P 3-P 4-P
starting from the base point and its radius is 0.15cm. Perforation (S1) (S2) (S3)
(S0)
Calculation of total surface area of heat sinks with
Total 248.33 263.7 308.8 324.87
different type of fins: surface * 10-4 * 10-4 94 * 10-4
area of * 10-4
Base plate surface area of heat sink: heat sink
(m2)
Surface area of base plate (S1) = Cuboid surface area
– (49 * Area of the base of cylinder/cone) The formula used for the heat transfer is:

= 7.5 * 7.5  49 *  * 0.25 2 cm2 Q = h * S * (Tp - Ta)

= 46.63 * 10-4 m2 where, Q =heat transferred, J/s = W

h = heat transfer coefficient, W / (m2 K)
Cylindrical fin surface area (S2) = Surface S = transfer surface, m2
area of cylinder – area of base of cylinder Tp= Temperature at a point on the heat sink, K
Ta=Ambient Temperature, K (say Ta=300K)
= 2rh + 2r2 - r2 The convection heat transfer coefficient (hc), W/ (m2
K) is calculated using the Nusselt number Nu, which
is the ratio between the convective and the k = air thermal conductivity = 0.026 W/ (m*K) at 27
conductive heat transfer: °C

𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟

𝑁𝑢 = = (ℎ𝑐 ∗ 𝐿) / 𝑘 Eq. 1 From governing equations of the convective heat
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟
transfer in fluid, the obtained hc and Tp values for
where, Nu = Nusselt number different surface areas and materials can be
hc = convective heat transfer coefficient tabularized in Table 2:
k = thermal conductivity, W/m K
L = characteristic length, m Table 2: Convective heat transfer coefficient (htc) and
Temperature at a point on heat sink with different
The convective heat transfer coefficient can be perforations in pin fin Heat Sink
written as following:

𝑁𝑢∗𝑘 Surface Convective Temp. at Convective Temp. at

𝑁𝑢 = Eq. 2
𝐿 Area htc Aluminium htc Copper
(Aluminium) heat sink (Copper) heat sink
The Nusselt number depends on the geometrical (hc) (K) (hc) (K)
shape of the heat sink and on the airflow.
S0 12.13 539.06 11.84 544.83

Now, if the heat flux given at the base of heat sink is S1 11.96 527.792 11.6855 533.121
maintained constant
S2 11.552 501.776 11.306 506.17
q = 12 Volt × 6 Amp = 72 Watt
S3 11.425 493.987 11.1864 498.123
Thus, for laminar flow and vertical fins,

Nu = 0.59 × Ra0.25 Eq. 3

Simulation & Results
where, Ra = Gr ∗ Pr Eq. 4
The simulations are done considering following
Rayleigh number is defined in terms of Prandtl material properties
number (Pr) and Grashof number (Gr).

If Ra < 109, the heat flow is laminar, while

Property Name Aluminium Copper
if Ra > 109, the flow is turbulent.
Heat capacity at Cp 900J/Kg*K 385J/Kg*K
The Grashof number, Gr is defined as following:
constant pressure 900
J/(Kg*K)
Gr = (g * L3 * β * (Tp-Ta)) /η2 Eq. 5
Density rho 3900Kg/㎥ 8700Kg/㎥
where, g = acceleration of gravity = 9.81, m/s2
L= longer side of the fin, m Thermal Conductivity k 207W/m*K 400W/m*K
β = air thermal expansion coefficient. For
gases, the reciprocal of the temperature, K Table 3: Properties of Aluminium and Copper
β = 1/Ta, 1/K
Tp= Plate temperature, °C. Using heat transfer module with laminar
flow, the time-dependent simulations are studied in
Ta= Air temperature, °C
COMSOL. The heat flux and heat transfer
η = air kinematic viscosity, coefficient values were specified for each iteration
= 1.56×10-5 (at 27 °C). with the fluid considered as Air.

And, Prandtl number, Pr is defined as: The various perforations that are considered for the
simulation are mentioned below:
Pr = (μ × Cp) / k Eq. 6
0p - No perforations on Heat sink fins
where, μ = air dynamic viscosity, is 1.846×10-5 at
3p - Three perforations on Heat sink fins
27 °C.
Cp = air specific heat = 1005 J/ (Kg*K) for dry air 4p - Four Perforations on Heat sink fins
Case 1: At natural convection for Aluminium heat
sink (hs)

Table 4: Temperatures at the tip of fin of an Aluminium

Heat sink for different perforation conditions at a constant
heat flux with respect to time

Time in 0-p 1-p 3-p 4-p

min
0 300 300 300 300
10 427.50 434.46 438.0 438.75 Fig 5: Al 4p at t= 80 min
20 482.96 491.50 500.0 502.79
30 502.33 510.59 522.08 525.76
40 508.39 516.85 529.68 533.46
50 510.31 519.12 532.49 536.28
60 510.856 519.70 533.2 537.14
70 510.96 519.76 533.317 537.3
80 510.94 519.74 533.29 537.29

Graph 1: Comparative heat transfer rate with respect to

perforation
Fig 6: Al 3p at t = 80 min
550
Case 2: At natural convection for Copper heat sink
500
Temperature (K)

Table 5: Temperature at the tip of fin on copper Heat sink

450 for different perforation conditions at a constant heat flux
Heat sink of Al with 0p with respect to time
400 Heat sink of Al with 1p
Heat sink of Al with 3p Time in
350 0-p 1-p 3-p 4-p
Heat sink of Al with 4p min
300 0 300 300 300 300
0 20 Time
40(in sec) 60 80 10 449.73 459.28 467.08 470.76
20 504.41 514.91 528.59 534.39
The results and comparative analysis of heat transfer 30 521.93 533.99 549.53 555.64
for Aluminium heat sink can be seen under: 40 527.44 539.96 557.17 562.94
50 529.33 541.62 559.4 565.34
60 529.71 542.05 559.99 565.94
70 529.72 542.12 560.1 566
80 529.68 542.1 560.09 565.95

Graph 2: Comparative heat transfer rate with

respect to perforation

600
Fig 3: Al 0p at t = 80 min
550
Temperature (K)

500
450 Heat sink of Cu 0p
400 Heat sink of Cu 1p
Heat sink of Cu 3p
350
Heat sink of Cu 4p
300
0 20 Time40
(in sec) 60 80
Fig 4: Al 1p at t= 80 min
Graph 2: Comparative heat transfer rate with respect to to larger surface area for convection and higher
perforation Nusselt number arguably due to the change in
The results and comparative analysis of heat transfer airflow directions. The construction process of the
for Copper heat sink can be seen under: perforated pin-fin heat sink is not complex and can
be accomplished easily and economically. Applying
this knowledge in cooling electronics components
and circuit, and CPUs is likely to help achieving
improved cooling performance and thus higher
reliability. Besides improving cooling performance
of electronic circuits, the perforated pin fin heat sink
can improve COP of thermoelectric systems. This
inference will aid in improving the COP of the
thermoelectric cooler by reduction of temperature
Fig 7: Cu 0p at t = 80 min between the hot and cold side of thermoelectric
module. Further experimental research needs to be
performed to compare the simulation results with
performance in real applications.

At steady state, the improvement in

temperature with respect to the geometry of the heat
sink fins is presented as under:

Table 6: Improvement %

Fig 8: Cu 1p at t= 80 min No. of Improvement % Improvement %

perforations w.r.t. solid fins w.r.t. solid fins
(Al) (Cu)
One 1.72 2.34
Three 4.37 5.74
Four 5.16 6.85

Graph 3: Comparative Representation of Performance of

Heat Sink with Different Perforations

8
Temperature difference: solid pin to one
Fig 9: Cu 3p at t = 80 min
PERCENTAGE TEMPERATURE

perforation heat sink

Temperature difference: one perforation to three
perforations heat sink
DIFFERENCE

Temperature difference: three perforations to four

perforations heat sink

10 20 30 40 50 60
-2 TIME

Fig 10: Cu 4p at t= 80 min

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