Author(s)

D. Pence & K. Enfield

Abstract

Heat sinks with fractal-like branching networks and parallel channel networks are compared. Fractal-like networks are embedded in disk-shaped heat sinks, whereas parallel channel networks exist in rectangular-shaped heat sinks. The benefit-to-cost ratio, defined as the ratio of advected energy over flow power, is found to be a strong function of channel length and channel depth under the constraints imposed in the present paper. The applied heat flux, heat sink area and flow rate between heat sinks remain constant in all cases considered. The channel spacing considered in both heat sinks is constrained by fabrication techniques. For the present range of conditions, the benefit-to-cost ratio is maximized for wider, deeper, and longer channels, and is always higher for the fractal-like heat sinks. Under these condit

Keywords