Numerical and Experimental Studies of Natural Convective Heat Transfer from Horizontal and Near Horizontal Plane Heated Surfaces of Various Shapes

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Electronic components used in many non-computer related devices require cooling in order to operate effectively. While cooling of such devices does not pose difficulties as severe as those arising in computer systems, ensuring adequate thermal management can be challenging. Such components, e.g. those in industrial measuring systems, are often cooled by natural convection due to its high reliability and cost effectiveness. Adequate thermal management requires knowledge of the natural convective heat transfer rates that exist in situations arising in such devices. This research program aims to accomplish this by providing a wide range of important new basic information for use in the design of such cooling systems. Situations considered are simplified models of those occurring in real-world electronic component cooling. Components will be modeled as flat heated elements of various shapes embedded in a surrounding flat surface, and in most cases, assumed to be horizontal. Proposed study areas, which involve numerical and experimental work, are: 1   Obtain heat transfer results for conditions where laminar, transitional and turbulent flow exists for a range of element shapes. Practical equations that describe the results will be generated. 2  Study whether wavy shaped surfaces can increase the heat transfer rate from a horizontal element. 3   When multiple horizontal elements are close together, interaction of the flows over adjacent surfaces can occur affecting the heat transfer rates. This effect will be studied. 4  Investigate the effect of thermal conditions existing at the element surface on the heat transfer rate. 5  Study the heat transfer rate from a horizontal element with a parallel shrouding surface over it. 6  Study the heat transfer rate when the element is inclined at a small angle to the horizontal. 7  Determine if the heat transfer rate from an element can be increased if heat transfer occurs to a nanofluid rather than air. The outcomes will be of considerable value to designers of industrial systems involving non-computer electronic components. These outcomes will provide them with improved and more extensive methods for estimating heat transfer rates which will allow the more accurate prediction of operating temperatures of the components. This will permit more efficient and lower cost systems to be designed and hence will potentially enhance Canada’s industrial competitiveness in this field. The results will also advance basic knowledge of the type of natural convective flows involved. This research program involves work in an area in which the applicant and his research group have extensive experience and expertise. HQP involved in this research will gain experience and technical expertise in areas involving new and challenging problems and gain experience in the use of advanced numerical and experimental procedures. They will be well prepared for careers in either industry or academia.