Comparison of thermal characteristics between the plate-fin and pin-fin heat sinks in natural convection

Abstract

Thermal performances of optimized plate-fin and pin-fin heat sinks with a vertical base plate were compared in natural convection. Comparisons were performed under the same base plate dimensions and fin height condition. A Nusselt number correlation available for plate-fin array was adopted to optimize plate-fin heat sinks. For pin-fin heat sinks, a new correlation of convective heat transfer coefficient was developed. With the new correlation, diameter, horizontal spacing, and vertical spacing of pin-fin array were optimized. Optimized plate-fin and pin-fin heat sinks are compared analytically and experimentally. They were compared for various base plate dimensions, fin heights, temperature differences. We have found that plate-fin heat sinks show better performance in most practical applications.