Experimental investigation of polymeric straight fin heat sink for low power LED

Metal heat sinks are more effective in dissipating heat but its weight, cost, design complexity, production are limiting their use so polymers can be considered as supplement because of its higher electrical insulation, low cost fabrication, less weight and easy processing of complex design. In this study, conventional Aluminium straight fin heat sinks are compared with three different polymeric straight fin heat sinks fabricated using 3D printer out of Poly Lactic Acid (PLA), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG). These 3D printed heat sinks are analyzed by Natural and Forced convection heat transfer for 3 W, 5 W and 20 W LEDs at two different orientations of heat sink 0° and 180°. From the experiments, polymers are less efficient in heat dissipation by 13 to 30% when compared with aluminium, it can be used as an alternative heat sink for low power electronic devices that requires less power dissipation.