Investigation of thermal performance of modified vertical rectangular fin array in free convection using experimental and numerical method

Heat transfer by free convection from fin array is influenced by modification in size and shape of the fins as well as interruption in fluid flow. The objective of heat sink is the thermal management of electronic devices by removing excessive heat and improve the lifespan of the device. The paper investigates the thermal performance of free convection heat transfer with vertical heat sink by providing slits along the vertical surface of the fins. For the evaluation purpose two different arrangements viz. plain fin and slitted fin are selected. Fins are made from high thermal conductivity aluminium material and five dissimilar heat inputs are selected for study. The experimental and numerical findings are confirmed using the theoretical correlations available from the literature. The effect of number of slits and width of slits is investigated on convective heat transfer coefficient. Numerical study is used to understand the flow patterns around the vertical fin surface. It has been observed that the presence of slits on the surface appreciably improves the thermal performance of vertical fin array.