Low Reynolds number thermo-hydraulic characterization of offset and diamond minichannel metal heat sinks

Experimental investigation involving heat transfer and pressure drop studies in minichannel heat sinks has been performed at low Reynolds number in the range 17-450. In a steady state approach, heat supplied to the minichannel heat sinks has been carried away by the convective fluid, water. Continuous circulation of water through different minichannels, namely, straight, offset and diamond has been maintained with two syringe pumps connected in parallel and out of phase. Calibration of the experimental setup with straight minichannel is followed by the testing of offset and diamond minichannels. Thermo-hydraulic performances have been experimentally studied in terms of Nusselt number, thermal resistance and friction factor with experimental accuracies of 17%, 8% and 14% respectively. Nusselt number has been found varying linearly with the Reynolds number for all the samples. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.