Topology Optimization, Additive Layer Manufacturing, and Experimental Testing of an Air-Cooled Heat Sink

Abstract

Topology optimization of an air-cooled heat sink considering heat conduction plus side-surface convection is presented. The optimization formulation is explained along with multiple design examples. A postprocessing procedure is described to synthesize manifold or “water-tight” solid model computer-aided design (CAD) geometry from three-dimensional (3D) point-cloud data extracted from the optimization result. Using this process, a heat sink is optimized for confined jet impingement air cooling. A prototype structure is fabricated out of AlSi12 using additive layer manufacturing (ALM). The heat transfer and fluid flow performance of the optimized heat sink are experimentally evaluated, and the results are compared with benchmark plate and pin-fin heat sink geometries that are conventionally machined out of aluminum and copper. In two separate test cases, the experimental results indicate that the optimized ALM heat sink design has a higher coefficient of performance (COP) relative to the benchmark heat sink designs.

Large scale three-dimensional topology optimisation of heat sinks cooled by natural convection

“…2.064962 2.066856 2.241125 2.362470 10 4 1.933460 1.880946 1.994538 2.111726 10 5 1.488278 1.450276 1.404511 1.439089 10 6 1.134963 1.121979 1.061452 1.025340 walls as discussed above. Table 5 shows a crosscheck of the objective functions for the optimised designs.…”

“…[2,3,4]. More recently, Dede et al [5] used these simplified models to design and manufacture heat sinks subject to jet impingement cooling. However, it is hard to justify the application of a predetermined and constant convection coefficient, because topology optimisation often leads to unanticipated designs, closed cavities and locally varying velocities.…”

One‐Piece Stainless‐Steel 3D Printed Minichannel Evaporators using Flow Boiling Carbon Dioxide

“…The ability to perform the 3D printing of stainless-steel matrices via selective laser melting is one the most recent and promising steps achieved in the field of rapid prototyping [19]. It opens new design possibilities and an alternative way to overcome some of the current challenges in thermal engineering like the manufacture of highperformance evaporators with low mass and reduced size exhibiting complex geometries [20,21].…”

Anisotropic Multicomponent Topology Optimization for Additive Manufacturing With Build Orientation Design and Stress-Constrained Interfaces

“…Topology optimization, as a computational method for exploring the optimal shape of geometries, has become an effective tool for designing components made by additive manufacturing (e.g., [14,15,16,17]). Conventional topology optimization methods often assume that the optimized structure will be produced as a single piece.…”