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OPEN Thermal transport analysis of six

circular microchannel heat sink
using nanofluid
Hassan Waqas1*, Shan Ali Khan1, Umar Farooq3, Taseer Muhammad2, Ahmad Alshehri4 &
Sumeira Yasmin1

Electronics devices growth in the last decade of the twentieth century ushered in a revolution inside
the electronics segment. Continuous micro-sizes and operation cause these devices to heat up,
resulting in a reduction in their performance or damage to their parts. Because heat can decrease
device performance and life span while also wasting energy, offering an incorporated and effective
cooling system has become a significant part of the design of device equipment. One of the key
challenges of modern generation technology is the cooling of electronic devices. Nanofluids have
attracted attention in a broad range of engineering implementations due to their great properties,
which may be used to effectively cool devices while also improving energy efficiency. In view of the
above defects, this numerical research object to examine the chip surface temperature, heat transfer
rate, thermal resistance, Darcy friction factor and reliability of microelectronic chips in minichannel
heat sinks is scrutinized by utilizing a TiO2/water nanofluid as a coolant and comparing the
nanoliquid outcomes with the outcomes of water. TiO2/Water nanofluids at 1%, 2% and 3% volume
concentrations are employed for this scrutinization. Here, a commercial CFD ANSYS (R19.2) FLUENT
software package is used to analyze the electronic chip performance. The CFD ANSYS (R19.2) FLUENT
software package is used for modeling, meshing and simulation of the current study.

Currently, modern electronic machinery generates strong heat fluxes. As a result, advanced electronic machinery,
such as integrated circuits, electronic chips and computer microprocessors, demands large thermal dissipation
rates for cooling. Heat sinks are technologies to remove heat generated from electronic processors with the help of
the energy difference between the warming surface and the coolant. The objectives of using heat sinks are divided
into two categories: (I) to improve the rate of heat dissipation to improve the efficiency of electronic devices and
(II) to increase the electrical package dependability and performance. It is generally acknowledged that electronic
chip malfunction and excessive energy consumption are caused by shrinking electronic component dimensions,
which drastically boosts heat flux per unit area, resulting in heat difficulties and deterioration in chip efficiency
and reliability. One of the most difficult problems in the creation of next-generation circuit boards, microproces-
sors, and other tiny integrated memory chips is addressing these challenges. Several kinds of heat exchangers
and cooling processes are currently used in electrical cooling. Electronic cooling can be accomplished using a
variety of approaches, including jet impingement cooling, pool boiling, two-phase flow in microchannels, spray
cooling, and heat pipes. In the past, air-based cooling methods were widely used. However, due to the poor
thermal transportation properties of air, they have some ­drawbacks1,2. Water-based strategies were later used
to overcome the drawbacks of the air cooling process. According to many researchers, the thermal efficiency of
water-based systems is significantly better than that of air-based systems. However, because of the latest devel-
opments in micro- and nanoscale heat transfer components, the heat efficiency of water-based systems may be
limited in their ability to eliminate large heat fluxes from advanced electronic devices. ­Li3 proposed a nanofluid
flow through microchannel. Paisarn and L ­ ursukd4 examined the heat sink impact on minirectangular fins to
improve the thermal performance through nanofluids. The output demonstrated that the thermal efficiency rate
for nanoliquids is greater than that for deionized water. Farsad et al.5 scrutinized the numerical computations of
microchannel heat sinks utilizing nanofluids and found that the microchannel heat sink cooling performance

1
Department of Mathematics, Government College University Faisalabad, Layyah Campus, Layyah 31200,
Pakistan. 2Department of Mathematics, College of Sciences, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi
Arabia. 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, HITEC University Taxila, Taxila 47080, Pakistan. 4Department
of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. *email:
hassanwaqas22@gcuf.edu.pk

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Number of elements Number of nodes Maximum skewness Minimum OQ Mesh quality

421,945 174,216 0.75999 0.29128 Good

Table 1.  Mesh features.

was better than that of pure water in minichannel heat sinks. Saadoon et al.6 explored the thermal transportation
of nanofluids in minichannel heat sinks.
Although common working fluids have poor thermal characteristics, it appears that using fluids with
improved heat characteristics rather than ordinary fluids is ­required7,8. Solids, on average, have stronger heat
conductivities than base l­iquids8. Therefore, it appears that scattering solid particles in host fluid may improve
the heat proficiency of host fl ­ uid9,10. Tiny-sized particles are unstable and sediment, whereas C ­ hoi11 demon-
strated that tiny-sized particles disperse faster than micron-sized particles. These nanofluid suspensions have
greater heat conductivities than the base l­ iquid12. Muhammad et al.13 investigated the numerical computations
of Eyring-Powell nanofluids over three-dimensional surfaces with Arrhenius activation energy. Sheikholeslami
et al.14 examined the thermal performance impacts on copper/water nanoliquids by adopting CVFEM. Wakif
et al.15 investigated magneto nanofluid flow through horizontal layers. Khan et al.16 discussed the behavior of
Casson blood base nanofluid flow through a rotating disk.
In various areas, nanofluids with high heat efficiency have been commonly utilized rather than conven-
tional media (such as water and oil) to fulfill the demand of high-performance heat transfer media. Currently,
nanoliquids have been recommended by the majority of researchers in the field of solar energy. Yu et al.17
suggested that CuO/Ag nanoliquids with a volume of 0.025 percent have the best photothermal renovation
capacity. This helps to improve the transfer of energy between light and heat in the solar heat collector packed
with nanoliquids. Moghadam et al.18 discussed copper oxide/water nanofluid flow through plates inside a solar
collector.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approaches are strong tools for simulating fluid flow and associated
heat and solutal transport by computing a numerically mathematical system that governs these processes, tak-
ing use of rapid and ongoing advances in computers and computing methodologies. Extensive comprehensive
examination, fundamental investigations of redesign and new systems, in-depth product research & innovation,
and troubleshooting are all areas where CFD simulations are ­useful19. In comparison to analytical and experi-
mental fluid dynamics, CFD is highly significant in computations of microelectromechanical system (MEMS)
technologies, particularly in the design of effective microchannel heat sinks. Adopting CFD modeling tools in
invention and design saves time and cost when compared to experimental techniques. Klazly and Bognár20 ana-
lyzed the CFD computations of nanofluid flow influenced by flat plates. Mohammed et al.21 used a rectangular
tube to analyze nanofluids. Naphon and ­Nakharintr22 examined the numerical computations of nanofluids in
microchannel heat sinks.
The fast demand for electronic equipment necessitates the development of small advanced cooling technology
that can deliver higher performance and reliability. Electronic equipment faces challenges such as excessive power
consumption and short life. Many electronic cooling strategies are being introduced by researchers. One of them
is a desire to learn more about electronics cooling. Many scientists have scrutinized the significance of several
nanofluid combinations on the cooling performance of electrical devices. The advent of current technology has
resulted in a reduction in the dimensions of industrial equipment in recent years. However, adequate cooling
and energy removal is a major issue in utilizing such equipment, especially in electronic systems. As a result,
improving the thermal efficiency of systems has become extremely important. Based on the abovementioned
survey of the literature, a few analyses have focused on circular microchannel heat sinks with fins by utilizing
water-based suspensions with TiO2 nanoparticle applications for heat transfer in electronic chips. Therefore, to
fill this gap of investigation, we tried to improve the cooling proficiency of electronic chips in regular six-channel
heat sinks by using a TiO2/water nanofluid utilizing the numerical finite volume method. The main purposes
are mainly as follows:

• The impacts of the heat transfer rate, Nusselt number, Darcy friction factor, thermal resistance and reliability
of the electronic chip on the microchannel heat flux are scrutinized.
• The effects of the surface temperature of the chip and TiO2/water nanofluid behavior as a coolant are inves-
tigated.
• Here, the cooling efficiency of nanofluid φ = 1%, φ = 2%, φ = 3% in a microchannel heat sink is scrutinized
numerically by utilizing CFD ANSYS-Fluent.
• The modeling, meshing and simulation are explored by using computational CFD ANSYS-FLUENT (R19.2).
• The flow governing system of equations is approached numerically by adopting the finite volume method
(FEM) in ANSYS-FLUENT (R19.2).

Mesh specifications/generation
Mesh independence study. Throughout the mesh independence study, three different cases were carried
out: (I) coarse, (II) normal and (III) fine. After the analysis, we found a fine mesh to be given accurate results and
of good quality. The mesh characteristics are reported in Table 1. Eight dissimilar grids were utilized to confirm
that outcomes were not dependent on the grid. The Nusselt number and Heat transfer outcomes (depicts in
Table 2) are utilized as the indicators of the outcomes. Due to diverse outcomes, the fifth grid was preferred as
final grid. Reasons for choosing a fifth grid are summarized below:

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Mesh type Nodes Elements Heat transfer coefficient Nusselt number

Mesh 1 9778 22,808 3137.23 29.1835
Mesh 2 12,475 28,655 3137.58 29.1868
Mesh 3 40,216 94,904 3700.45 34.4228
Mesh 4 63,600 152,503 3920.88 36.4733
Mesh 5 174,216 421,945 4511.87 41.9709
Mesh 6 227,293 529,703 3780.31 35.1657
Mesh 7 291,736 700,021 3646.63 33.9221
Mesh 8 1,412,456 634,481 3647.35 33.9288

Table 2.  Evaluation of Nusselt number and heat transfer coefficient for different grid resolution.

• Better and smoother solution convergence at good criteria.

• Much better accuracy.
• Structured multi zone mixed cells mesh along with much better quality as compared to other meshes.
• Feasible Results in relatively less computational time.

For current simulation purposes, a machine with the following specification is utilized:

1. Ram: 12 GB.
2. Processor: Intel core i5.
3. Time: 30 min iteration 100.
4. Convergence at 100 iteration.

Meshing of the microchannel with a heat sink was performed with the help of a commercial ANSYS-FLUENT
(R19.2) tool. Figure 1 shows the mesh of the microchannel heat sink in cases of skewness, element quality and
mash of six microchannels.

Methodology
Problem description. CFD modeling is now a well-established practice for computing complex issues in
various modern engineering sectors because it is convenient. Here, the three-dimensional laminar flow of steady
state from the laws of conservation of mass, momentum and energy is taken into account. A physical view
of the problem under a heat sink with a microchannel is displayed in Figs. 2 and 3. According to the figure,
six microchannels and five fins are installed with a chip to increase the cooling proficiency. The microchannel
dimensions are width = 55 mm, length = 55 mm and height = 42 mm, as mentioned in Table 3. The microchannel
in the heat sink and identical cross section of channels are shown in Fig. 4. To approximate the heat generation
in the electronic chip, a uniform heat flux (q′′ = 70 W/cm2) is employed on the base wall surface of the channel
heat sink. In this article, TiO2 nanoparticles with a diameter of 35 mm were dispersed in water as a coolant. The
computational package Fluent, which uses the finite volume method, is a popular program for computing fluid
flows. Figure 5 are drawn for mash of microchannel heat sink in three different view (i) side view and five fins
(ii) bottom view (iii) microchannel heat sink by utilizing ANSYS (i.e., CFD FLUENT) computational software.
The following governing equations are taken into account with consideration, such as laminar, incompressible
and steady-state fluid flow, for the current issue:
Equation of Continuity
∂x u + ∂y v + ∂z w = 0, (1)
Equations of Momentum are:

(2)
   
ρf u∂x u + v∂y u + w∂z u = −∂x p + µf ∂xx u + ∂yy u + ∂zz u ,

(3)
   
ρf u∂x v + v∂y v + w∂z v = −∂y p + µf ∂xx v + ∂yy v + ∂zz v ,

(4)
   
ρf u∂x w + v∂y w + w∂z w = −∂z p + µf ∂xx w + ∂yy w + ∂zz w ,

Heat equation for coolant:

(5)
   
ρf Cpf u∂x Tf + v∂y Tf + w∂z Tf = Kf ∂xx Tf + ∂yy Tf + ∂zz Tf ,

Heat equation for solid phase:

(6)
 
ks ∂xx Ts + ∂yy Ts + ∂zz Ts = 0,

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Figure 1.  Mesh sketch, (a) skewness, (b) element quality, and (c) mesh of six microchannels.

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Figure 2.  Minichannel heat sink schematic diagram.

Figure 3.  Microchannel heat sink geometry view created by ANSYS.

Width of channel Hydraulic diameter Heat transfer area

Dimension Length (mm) Width (mm) Number of find (n) (mm) (mm) ­(mm2)
Size 55 50 5 6 6 0.0010362

Table 3.  Properties of microchannel heat sink dimensions.

Figure 4.  Geometry of Micro channel heat sink.

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Figure 5.  Computational mesh of the micropolar chip for cooling chip: (a) side view along the xy-plane, (b)
bottom view, and (c) microchannel.

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Characteristics Distilled water TiO2 solid material

Density kg m−3 997.1 4175
 

4179 692
 
Specific heat J kg−1 K−1
Thermal conductivity (W/mK) 0.613 8.4
Dynamic Viscosity N sm−2 0.001003 –
 

Mean Diameter (nm) – 35

Table 4.  Thermophysical features of the base fluid (distilled water) and nanoparticles (TiO2).

Characteristics Symbols Expressions for nanofluid

Density ρ ρnf = (1 − φ)ρf + φρp
Heat capacity
   
Cp Cp.nf = (1 − φ) ρCp f + φ ρCp p /ρnf
Dynamic viscosity µ µnf = µf (1 − φ)−2.5
  
kp + (n − 1)kf kp + (n − 1)kf
Thermal conductivity k knf =     kf
−(n − 1)φ kf − kp +φ kf − kp

Table 5.  Thermophysical properties for nanofluid.

Here, ρf indicates the density of the fluid, µf signifies the dynamic viscosity, Tf designates the temperature
of the coolant, p denotes the coolant pressure, the specific heat capacity is indicated as Cpf and Kf is the thermal
conductivity.

Boundary conditions. The boundary layer flow equations were approached utilizing a commercial CFD
package (Fluent 19.2). The volumetric concentration of TiO2 nanoparticles dispersed in distilled water utilized
as the input constraint was 1–3%, and the inlet temperature was 293.15 K to the microchannel heat sink. The
coolant used in this computation through the inlet is water and TiO2/water nanoliquid, and its thermophysical
characteristics are mentioned in Table 4. In this investigation, a single phase is considered. ANSYS-FLUENT
(R19.2)23 is used for modeling the microchannel heat sink. Here, the nodes and elements of the microchannel
heat sink are 174,216 and 421,945, respectively. A uniform heat flux q′′ = 70 W/cm2 is used on the base of the
chip surface to simulate heat generation in electronic chips. No slip was implemented in any domain of the fluid.

Thermophysical characteristics of nanofluid. The thermophysical characteristics of the nanofluid,

such as density (ρ ), heat capacity (Cp), dynamic viscosity (µ) and thermal conductivity (k ), are addressed ­by24
(see Table 5).

Data reduction. The heat transfer rate is obtained by:

Qnf = mnf Cpnf (Tout − Tin )nf . (7)
The coefficient of heat transfer is addressed as;

(8)
 
hnf = Qnf /As Ts − Tnf .

The average Nusselt number is characterize as:

kNuav = hav .Dh (9)
The Darcy friction factor along the microchannel heat sink is examined to compute the hydraulic loss of the
microchannel ­flow24
2Dh �p
fr = . (10)
ρu2 L
Here, p indicates the difference in pressure between the inlet and outlet of the minichannel heat sink fr is
the friction factor and L is the length of the microchannel.
Based on hydraulic diameter, the Reynolds number is computed a­ s25,
µRe = ρu · Dh (11)
The overall thermal resistance is determined by
Tmax − Tin
Rth = (12)
Qin

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Figure 6.  Velocity in micro channel heat sink.

­ y26
The Arrhenius expression is addressed b
  
(13)
Ea T 1
k Tuse −T
AF = e stress

The Failure r­ ate26 is obtained by following

FIT = FIT = hours × 109 (14)

26
The MTTF (i.e., Mean Time to Failure) is calculated a­ s :
FTTFhours = 1/FIT = hours . (15)

Numerical analysis/CFD methodology

In this investigation, commercial ANSYS-FLUENT (R19.2) CFD software was utilized to compute numerically
governing equations. The mesh of the microchannel for the electronic ship is computed at fine quality by utilizing
ANSYS-FLUENT (R19.2) (see Fig. 5). Here, the microchannel heat sink for an electronic chip utilizing a TiO2/
distilled water nanofluid is illustrated by a single phase with uniform heat flux q′′ = 70 W/cm2 affected on the
bottom chip surface. The governing flow equations are integrated utilizing FVM with CFD ANSYS FLUENT
software. The computations were based on the pressure correction technique utilizing the SIMPLE scheme.

Results and discussion

In this numerical study, the heat transfer in electronic chip in six circular channel heat sink can be divided into
two based on the mechanisms namely, simple water and TiO2/water nanofluid. The thermal transfer rate, Nusselt
number, Darcy friction factor, Reynolds number, thermal resistance, and wall temperature are discussed and
compared with the outcomes of water. Nanopowder of TiO2 is that this particular nanofluid is unique as com-
pared with other nano fluid especially when it comes to heat transfer. The computations address dissimilar values
of the volume friction of TiO2/water nanoliquids, such as φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%. The single-phase TiO2
/water nanofluid in the microchannel heat sink is studied numerically with uniform heat flux q′′ = 70 W/cm2
on the base of the chip.

Velocity profile. The velocity field across the microchannel heat sink for the TiO2/water nanofluid is plotted
in Fig. 6. The variation in the velocity field 1587 ms−1 is obtained at the 3% volume friction of the nanofluid. It
can be observed that the thermophysical properties are altered with respect to volume friction. Here, we found
that velocity decreases as the volume friction in the nanofluid increases. The cross-sectional view of velocity
across inlet to outlet is displayed in Fig. 7. The velocity decreases at the inlet to outlet faces for each volume fric-
tion under the Reynolds number. Furthermore, the density and viscosity of the nanofluid increases via superior
volume friction impact under the same Reynolds number.

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Figure 7.  Cross-sectional view of velocity in microchannels by ANSYS.

3500
D. Water
Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

ɸ=1%
ɸ=2%
3000
ɸ=3%

2500

2000

1500

1000
0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
-1
Inlet Velocity(ms )

Figure 8.  Estimation of the heat transfer coefficient against inlet velocity with TiO2/water nanofluid and
distilled water in the circular channel.

Heat transfer. The major aim of the cooling system is to decrease the surface temperature of the heat sink
in minichannels with electronic chips. Figure 8 signifies the variation of heat transfer coefficient as a function
of inlet velocity with distinguished amount of volume friction of TiO2/water nanofluid such as φ = 1%, φ = 2%
and φ = 3%. The heat transfer coefficient has a direct direction with the inlet velocity of the fluid. Therefore,
the heat transfer coefficient improves with increasing inlet velocity of the fluid. The coefficient of heat transfer
is observed from 12.09 to 14.02% at a volume friction of TiO2/water nanofluid from 1 to 3%. Figure 9 illustrates
the heat transfer coefficient against the Reynolds number for distilled water and three different amounts of vol-
ume friction 1% to 3%. A larger Reynolds number has a larger heat transfer coefficient, with the volume friction
distinguishing values from 1 to 3% of the TiO2/water nanofluid in the microchannel heat sink. Furthermore, the
heat transfer rate is larger from 12.09 to 14.02% in the case of TiO2/water nanofluids compared to water. This
improvement due to the superior merging of TiO2 particles and collision of particles as a result of heat efficiency
carries out more heat proficiency.

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3500
D. Water

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

ɸ=1%
3000 ɸ=2%
ɸ=3%

2500

2000

1500

1000
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Reynolds number (Re)

Figure 9.  Estimation of the heat transfer coefficient against the Reynolds number in a minichannel heat sink
for a microelectronic chip with TiO2/water nanofluids and distilled water.

Figure 10:.  3D graphs of heat transfer coefficient vs. volume friction and Reynolds number.

The 3D graph impacts of HTC w.r.t active parameters are plotted in Fig. 10. Similarly, Fig. 11 demonstrates
the contour diagram of the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) to indicate the largest and smallest amount.

Nusselt number. The significance of inlet fluid velocity on the Nusselt number with three different values
of TiO2/water nanofluid volume friction φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3% is displayed in Fig. 12. We observed that
the use of TiO2/water nanoliquids in microchannel heat sinks with heat flux escalates the thermal transfer rate.
As mentioned earlier, the use of different volume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) of nanofluids leads to
an enhanced Nusselt number. From the figure, it can be noticed that the Nusselt number is an improving func-
tion of inlet fluid velocity.
Figure 13 is captured to determine the trend of the Reynolds number against the Nusselt number with volume
friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) of TiO2/water nanofluids in a microelectronic chip with six microchan-
nel heat sinks. From the CFD analysis, we found that the Nusselt number is improved by escalating the values
of the Reynolds number. Furthermore, the Nusselt number is, 12.17%, 12.39% and 14.01% larger than water for
different φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3% TiO2/water nanoliquids, respectively. Physically, the convective thermal
transfer current is improved due to the presence of a better Reynolds number. Therefore, the Nusselt number is
more effective for TiO2/water nanoliquids than water.
Figure 14 illustrates a 3D plot of the heat transfer rate (HTR) against the volume friction and Reynolds num-
ber. Here, we noticed that HTR is enhanced when the Reynolds number is boosted for each volume friction.
Similarly, the contour of HTR versus active parameters is captured in Fig. 15.

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Figure 11.  Heat transfer coefficient contour diagram influenced by volume friction and Reynolds number.

40
D. Water
ɸ=1%
35 ɸ=2%
ɸ=3%
30
Nusselt number

25

20

15

10

0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10

Inlet fluid velocity (ms-1)

Figure 12.  Estimation of the Nusselt number against inlet fluid velocity across the microchannel for an
electronic chip heat sink with TiO2/water nanofluid and distilled water.

Thermal resistance. Figure 16 demonstrates the thermal resistance values for dissimilar values of TiO2
/water nanofluid volume fractions versus Reynolds number. Larger values of Reynolds cause a reduction in
thermal resistance due to volume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) of the nanofluid. It can be observed
that φ = 3% TiO2/water nanofluid volume friction demonstrated 16.25% less thermal resistance than water.
Physically, the reduction thermal resistance is due to the significantly greater velocity when the Reynolds num-
ber is larger. The larger velocity of fluid depresses the thermal resistance among the fluid particles, and larger
nanofluids have more heat proficiency. This leads to increased thermal transport, which is inversely proportional
to convective thermal resistance.

Friction factor. Figure 17 elucidates the friction factor of nanofluid aspects for TiO2/water nanofluid vol-
ume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) via the Reynolds number. The friction factor of the nanoliquid in
the microelectronic six-channel heat sink is reduced by enhancing the Reynolds number. Physically, due to the
larger Reynolds number, the velocity is boosted, and the velocity has an opposite relation with the friction factor;
therefore, the friction factor of the nanofluid declines with a greater Reynolds number.

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40
D. Water
ɸ=1%
35
ɸ=2%
ɸ=3%
30

Nusselt number
25

20

15

10

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Reynolds number (Re)

Figure 13.  Estimation of the Nusselt number against the Reynolds number in a minichannel heat sink with
TiO2/water nanofluid and distilled water.

Figure 14.  3D graphs of heat transfer rate (Nusselt number) versus volume friction and Reynolds number.

Wall temperature. The wall temperature estimations at the bottom side of the heat sink for dissimilar
volume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) of TiO2/water nanofluids in a microelectronic chip with six
mini channels via the Reynolds number are shown in Fig. 18. Here, it can be noticed that the wall temperature
diminishes via a greater Reynolds number for different volume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%). Fig-
ure 19 shows the thermal/temperature contour in the minichannel heat sink for the nanofluid. From the figure,
we observed that the wall temperature of the six circular microchannels declines significantly when utilizing
coolant. The wall temperature found was 3546 K . The largest heat transfer rates are examined for concentration
volume friction from 1 to 3%. The outcome depicts that improving the heat transfer coefficient enhances the
thermophysical characteristics of the dispersed nanomaterials compared to the host fluid. Thus, TiO2 a larger
heat efficiency of/water nanoliquids improves heat transfer along the microchannel heat sink.

Pressure drop. The pressure drop across the inlet to outlet face of the six circular microchannel heat sinks
from adopting ANSYS-FLUENT is shown in Fig. 20. From the CFD analysis, it can be noticed that the pressure
drop is enhanced for each concentration of coolant. Here we acquire 1996 Pa pressure. Figure 21 signifies the
pressure drop contour across the inlet to outlet of the six microchannel heat sinks displayed in the cross section
utilizing ANSYS-(R19.2) FLUENT. In these figures, we clearly observed two regions with smaller temperature
and pressure (blue color) in the inlet of the circular channel heat sink and in the outlet face of the channel greater
temperature and pressure drop (red color). Due to the frictional consequences of the nanoparticles and the
surface of the channel, the pressure drop increases. Therefore, the pressure drop of the TiO2/water nanoliquid
improved with an increase in volumetric concentration friction significance. Here we obtained 1996 Pa pressure.

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Figure 15.  Heat transfer rate (Nusselt number) contour diagram influenced by volume friction and Reynolds
number.

0.14 D. Water
ɸ=1%
ɸ=2%
Thermal resistance (Rth)

0.12 ɸ=3%

0.10

0.08

0.06

0.04
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Reynolds number (Re)

Figure 16.  Estimation of the thermal resistance against the Reynolds number in a minichannel heat sink with
TiO2/water nanofluid and distilled water.

Wall heat flux. Figure 22 shows the wall heat flux in the microchannel heat sink for each volumetric con-
centration. The heat flux acts at the underside surface of the microchannel heat sink to compute the heat genera-
tion in the microelectronic chip. Here we acquired 6727 Wm−2 heat flux. Figure 23 clearly shows that the heat
flux is clearly applied on the bottom of the microchannels in the electronic chip. We observed that heat flux is
increased at each concentration of cooling. The wall heat flux acquired was 2018 Wm−2. The heat flux across
the inlet to outlet faces of six circular microchannels; a cross-sectional view is shown in Fig. 24. The heat flux is
improved for larger concentrations of coolant. Heat flux has a direct relation with thermal conductivity. Larger
heat efficiency was carried out to improve the heat transfer. The TiO2/water nanofluid has high heat transfer
across microchannels.

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0.035 D. Water
ɸ=1%
ɸ=2%
0.030 ɸ=3%

0.025

fr 0.020

0.015

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Re

Figure 17.  Estimation of the friction factor against the Reynolds number in a microchannel heat sink with
TiO2/water nanofluids and distilled water.

360

D. Water
ɸ=1%
350 ɸ=2%
ɸ=3%
Wall Temperature

340

330

320

310
100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Reynolds number (Re)

Figure 18.  Estimation of the Wall temperature against the Reynolds number in a microchannel heat sink with
TiO2/water nanofluid and distilled water.

Conclusions
In this study, CFD analysis was conducted to scrutinize the numerical cooling performance of circular minichan-
nel heat sinks with different volume friction (φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%) using TiO2/water nanofluids and
water for electronic chips. The computational ANSYS-FLUENT (R19.2) Package is used to observe the CFD
analysis. The flow governing equations are approached numerically by (FVM) with the ANSYS-FLUENT package.
Based on the outcomes, it was observed that a noteworthy increment in the heat transfer coefficient was obtained
by using nanofluids as coolants w.r.t water. It is scrutinized that the heat transfer coefficient is escalated by enlarg-
ing the inlet velocity. The HTC is improved 12.09% to 14.02% with concentration φ = 1%, φ = 2% and φ = 3%
of nanofluid compared to water. The Nusselt number is amplified via larger estimations of the Reynolds number
and volume friction. It is noted that the thermal resistance and friction factor decrease when the nanoparticle
concentration increases under the Reynolds number. These effects occur due to the larger thermal efficiency of
the nanofluid and random motion of nanoparticles. Nanofluids used in microchannel heat sinks enhance the
efficiency of electronic chip cooling compared to distilled water.

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Figure 19.  Temperature contour for a microelectronic chip in a microchannel heat sink with a nanofluid
utilizing ANSYS.

Figure 20.  Contour of pressure in six circular microchannels.

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Figure 21.  Cross-sectional observation of pressure in six circular microchannels.

Figure 22.  Wall heat flux significance for microelectronic chips in microchannel heat sinks with nanofluids by
using ANSYS.

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Figure 23.  Wall heat flux contour in six circular microchannels.

Figure 24.  Cross-sectional Schmidt of the wall heat flux contour in the microchannel heat sink.

Received: 4 November 2021; Accepted: 7 March 2022

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Acknowledgements
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University, Abha,
Saudi Arabia for funding this work through research groups program under grant number RGP.2/184/43.

Author contributions
H.W. and S.A.K. generated the research idea, stated the problem, and wrote the codes to perform the numerical
calculations and plot the graphical results. U.F. performed the analysis and verified the numerical results; T.M.
supervised the whole work, stated the problem, drafted the manuscript and commented on it. S.Y. and A.A.
reviewed the manuscript and contributed to the final version of the manuscript.

Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to H.W.
Reprints and permissions information is available at www.nature.com/reprints.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
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