Improved Topology Optimization Model for Heat Sink Design Under Natural Convection

This paper proposes an improved topology optimization model based on SIMP method for heat sink design under natural convection conditions. It uses a double-projection method to reduce the performance deviation caused by conventional filtering and projection methods in the topology optimization procedure. And a shape optimization procedure is adopted as a post-processing method to further enhance the thermal performance of the extracted topology-optimized heat sink by optimizing its boundary profiles. A practical 3D heat sink for cooling the PTC heat source is designed using the improved topology optimization model and manufactured by the laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) 3D printing. The heat dissipation performance of the novel-designed heat sink is experimentally and numerically examined and it achieves a 23.5% lower thermal resistance compared to the conventional plate-fin heat sink.