Response Surface Optimization of the Radial Heat Sink Parameter Using Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

Evaluating heat sink design parameters is vital to ensure the capability and suitability for various applications. Heat sinks can malfunction when experiencing high temperatures for a long period of time due to their poor thermal management. This study aims to analyze the performance of radial heat sinks for high-temperature applications in terms of heat transfer coefficient by using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) optimization analysis. This study focused on optimizing heat sink design parameters (i.e., thickness, height, and the number of fins) to the heat transfer coefficient (h) and Nusselt number (Nu) using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). In the optimization, the optimum height, thickness and number of fins are 41 mm, 3 mm, and 10-fins, respectively, generating maximum values of 9.10 W/m2℃ heat transfer coefficient and 375.97 Nusselt number. The error percentage from both validation ways was considered acceptable since it was less than 10%. Therefore, the finding is useful for heat sink optimization and better explains the interaction relationship between all design parameters to the engineer and researcher in the thermal management research field.