Cooling ability of smooth and dimpled surfaces

Abstract

Reliable cooling of electronic components is an essential factor in electrical engineering. Every electronic device produces a certain amount of heat during its operation. This heat can cause overheating and a device can suffer damage. Therefore, the issue of cooling plays a significant role and is an important theme appropriate for continuously finding new improvements. The paper describes a quantification of the heat transfer coefficients between a body and a surrounding environment. Experimental research of the heat transfer by cooling is focused on the plane smooth and structured surfaces. Surface structures improving the heat transfer rate are of dimples. The cooling process was measured by using a thermal imaging camera to obtain a cooling curve – the change in temperature time course during air cooling. The analysis of the cooling curve gradient allows us to identify convective and radiant components of the heat transfer. The presented results in the form of diagrams include different cases of air flow around smooth and dimpled surfaces.