Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, 11, 190-215 1

REVIEW ARTICLE

A Review on Recent Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink Configurations

Ganesan Narendran, Nagarajan Gnanasekaran and Dharmaraj A. Perumal *

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore -575025,
India

Abstract: A qualitative observation has been undergone to review the various geometries of a
microchannel that has been reported for the last two decades in literature majorly for the application of
high power devices. Recent research on microchannel is more focused on numerical and experimental
work with various configurations of the heat sink. In this paper, a comparative work on different flow
geometries used in the microchannel and their influence on heat transfer and pressure drop is investi -
gated with the brief representation of different working fluids used in microchannel heat sink for the
purpose of electronic cooling and their associated performance characteristics with various examined
parameters.

Background: The microchannel cooling is an established cooling technique for high power electronic
AR TIC LEH ISTORY components which effectively enhances the performance of the high power devices.
Received: November 19, 2017
Revised: July 13, 2018 Objective: This article presents a general overview of microchannels with novel constructional bifurca -
Accepted: July 19, 2018 tions structures with related patents. Further, the influential parameter on thermal and flow characteris -
DOI: tics with greater depth is also reviewed by authors.
10.2174/2212797611666180726124047
Methods: This review directs by presenting standard and benchmark investigation in the microchannel
and different working parameters continued with recent studies. Further, it is addressed with the appli -
cation of electronic cooling with latest patents using bifurcations and fractal microchannels.

Result: The current situation of 3D cooling requires a robust cooling system to accommodate increased
heat flux without compromising the packaging. Moreover, the recently developed patents also evolved
with improved thermal load handling under constrained packaging.
Conclusion: The advanced microchannel cooling with an optimized fluid handling system with effec -
tive packaging results in a highly effective heat dissipation system.

Keywords: Bifurcations, flow boiling, fractal microchannels, microchannel, nanofluids, porous microchannels.

1. INTRODUCTION of these latest compact electronic devices, which will be a

challenging and active field among researchers in coming
The rapid advancement in the field of consumer electron-
future. In order to meet the cooling demands of latest high
ics has drastically reduced the size of the devices and expo -
power devices, it is necessary to look for novel and ingen-
nentially increased the computational efficiency. Advances
ious cooling solutions.
in 3D Transistor further allowed packaging technology to
reach the range of less than 22nm. As a result, these minia- Recently, remarkable works have been reported on mi -
turized electronics occupied a vast application; it has rede- croscale heat transfer systems to dissipate heat flux more
fined our working space and reached a tremendous level than 1kW/cm 2 [1, 2]. However, adding parallel type micro-
where its future growth is highly diversified. Nowadays, it channel will not meet the demands of advanced multicore
has morphed into flexible electronics, wearable technology, processors [3]. Choi et al. [4] reported heat enhancement of
optoelectronics, electronic bio-implants and IoT. However, heat transfer based on high thermal conductive fluids with
these devices face bottleneck due to enormous heat dissipa- highly dispersed nanosize metallic or oxide in the base fluid.
tion from its increased power in transistors. Moreover, lack Implementing the nanofluid in microscale devices delivered
of concurrent evolution in cooling technologies let the pre- appreciable thermal enhancement for a huge price of pressure
sent cooling systems inadequate to meet the new paradigm drop thereby developing lower performance. Additionally,
issue of nanofluids reliability and stability is highly debat -
*Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Mechanical able [5, 6]. A substantial amount of studies by Kandlikar [7]
Engineering, National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Man- and Joshi [8] on microchannels has also put forth a necessity
galore-575025, India; Tel: +919159860535; Fax: + 91 08242474058; of novel microscale devices for advanced heat dissipation
E-mail: Perumal.iit@gmail.com due to integration issues in two-phase flow. Since currently,

2212-7976/18 $58.00+.00 © 2018 Bentham Science Publishers

2 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

we are in the golden age of microfabrication, it further ap- 3. The mass flow rate in the channels is not evenly distrib-
peals for an innovation in microchannel heat sink design or a uted, due to this localized high-temperature zone is de-
hybrid methodology to push the present cooling capability of veloped.
the microchannel to the next level. 4. Identifying effective manufacturing process for micro-
However, it is pertinent to note that the importance of channel that provides near zero surface roughness is dif-
novel technologies in microchannels is not the only hour of ficult.
demand for high-density electronic components but also to 5. If point 4 is reality then the concern about early turbu-
cool data centers, workstation computers, Nozzle cooling for lence effects and higher pressure drop can be solved.
3D printers, supercapacitors thermal management and cooling But, most importantly the primarily responsible factor
of artificial organs. Therefore, the requirement of new sink that influences heat transfer in the microchannel can be
design to enhance the existing cooling is persuasive by many cornered.
factors and might provide new insight into many interdiscipli-
nary fields. The above requirements can be approached by 6. Robust cooling of multicores which are subjected to the
methods such as: Designing novel microscale devices for elec- various loading heat flux is quite challenging.
tronic cooling, microscale hybrid cooling devices (involves a However, most of the studies highlight the effects of heat
combination of two or more cooling technologies), design transfer enhancement; but, very rare attention was paid on
modifications in existing microchannels etc. The current study accelerated effect on the use of combined microchannel with
will present an extensive review of the above-mentioned micropump that leads to reliable commercialization of liquid
methods. In advance of the discussion, it will be beneficial to cooling in compact electronic devices. Upcoming new types
analyze the significance and challenges involved in imple- of designs must facilitate to solve the fundamental problems
menting a microchannel cooling system and also going on heat transfer characteristics and flow phenomenon in Mi-
through the past work performed in microchannels. cro-Meso scale level which eventually bridge the gap to
work with an optimized liquid cooling system for a future
1.1. Trade-Offs in Microchannels generation. Thus, the thrust for further research in the
It is evident that the current electronic cooling systems cooling of electronic devices is microchannel; therefore, it is
majorly employ heat pipes, fins and a combination of both. worth knowing the designs, techniques and their applica -
The use of the fin and heat pipe based cooling system man- tions.
ages to occupy large volume and appeals a huge setback
from the perspective of compactness of the device. For ex- 2. MICROCHANNEL CONFIGURATION STUDIES
ample, a normal heat pipe combined with a fan can dissipate 2.1. Structural Based Bifurcation
(300W/m2K) energy and at lower magnitude with only fins
(80W/m2 K) [9]. But these cannot dissipate the latest range - Increase in heat transfer by recirculation and vortex de-
2000W/cm 2, due to this, the above devices have limitations velopment by added microstructures and cavities along the
for recent electronic components. Using the increased sur- flow direction is a method to enhance heat transfer in the
face area and liquid coolant is one of the better options to microchannel. The studies include providing micro fins in a
move further. The concept of microchannel heat sink was different orientation, introducing cavities accompanied with
first coined by Tuckerman and Pease [10]. His path-breaking ribs and designing Fractal tree for increased flow and heat
work initiated many other researchers to compare their nu- transfer. Li et al. [19] performed numerical studies on mi-
merical and experimental work with other microchannel crochannels with triangular cavities containing rectangular
shapes using different fluids in different application domains ribs for Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 173 to 635.
[11-14]. Bowers and Mudawar [15] performed cooling stud- They investigated the combined effects of cavity and ribs
ies with circular microchannel using R-113 as working fluid over heat transfer and friction factor. Their investigation
and achieved higher heat flux dissipation range of 200W/cm 2 includes a method to minimize the entropy generation to
under low-pressure drop. Garimella et al. [16] conducted enhance the heat transfer. They reported that this type of
investigations on trapezoidal microchannel with various as- microchannels develops enhancement due to increased rede-
pect ratios. The authors observed that both the change in veloping flows along the channels. Further, this arrangement
aspect ratio and sidewall angle of the trapezoidal channel intensified the mixing of fluid in the system that contributes
increases the heat transfer. Recinella and Kandlikar con - to heat transfer with a rated enhancement at Re = 500 for a
ducted experimental studies with manifold microchannel rib of 0.3 and cavity width of 2.24.
flow boiling and reached a critical heat flux more than Yang et al. [20] performed experimental and numerical
600W/cm2 [17]. Singh et al. [18] incorporated Al 2O3 nan- studies on microchannel with different pin fin shaped like a
ofluids in trapezoidal microchannel and reported heat trans- rhombus, hydrofoil and sine with a top area of 0.0625 mm 2
fer enhancement. Besides the above well-established benefits and the entire surface area of 1061119mm 2. From their nu-
of the microchannel, it has also its own operational limita- merical simulation, they found that sine type pin fins develop
tions as follows: comparatively better results than the remaining at the flow
1. Due to the increased surface area, friction factor increases rate of 100 ml/min with a heat flux of 144W/cm 2. Similarly,
in microchannels leading to higher pressure drop and it the lower pressure drop of 15kPa is obtained by using sine
further intensifies while introducing high viscous fluids. type pin fins for maximum velocity of 4.46m/s.
2. The use of nanofluids or two-phase fluid develops cor- Ghani et al. [21] conducted a numerical investigation on
rosion in the channels and causes a decrement in heat microchannel containing sinusoidal cavity with rectangular
transfer due to fouling effects. ribs for Reynolds number ranging between 100 and 800. The
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 3

studies were performed by considering the parameters like changer on both sides of the thermoelectric generator by
Nusselt number and friction factor. According to them, the switching cooling fluid on both hot and cold end. Recently, a
combined output of sinusoidal cavities with rectangular ribs cooling system dedicated to micro fins with hydro-
is superior to cavities and ribs of the other designs due to the philic/hydrophobic surfaces involving under higher heat flux
increased surface area but interestingly with reduced friction was developed for higher heat flux condition that resulted in
factor. The best heat transfer results were found for the Rey- better performance [28].
nolds number of 800.
Zhao et al. [29] optimized micro pin fin arrangement for
Tokit et al. [22] performed a numerical investigation on the application of electronic cooling with porous media.
interpreted channels with nanofluid as cooling fluid. They Here, the investigations were carried out by allowing the
have studied Al 2O3, CuO and SiO 2 nanofluids with a volume porosity values with altered pin fin locations. They have reg -
fraction range from 1 to 4% under the Reynolds number istered an equal importance of the above two parameters for
ranging from 140 to 1034 with a particle diameter of 30 to heat transfer enhancement and an optimal porosity of 0.75
60nm. According to them, the augmentation in heat transfer with a square rib angle of 30° was recommended. In the case
is due to an increase in volume fraction with decreased parti - of porous based pin fin cooling under a velocity of 1.44 m/s
cle size and maximum enhancement was reported for alu - a maximum Nusselt number of 24 was developed with a
mina nanofluid. Chai et al. [23] conducted numerical simula- pressure drop of 4.6kPa. With the flow velocity of 1.44m/s,
tion on different types of interpreted ribs in a microchamber. Nusselt number increases with increased pressure drop up to
They have showed that with the use of ribs, local heat trans- 15% for porosity of 0.56.
fer coefficient can be incremented. They have used rectangu-
lar, triangular, diamond and ellipsoidal ribs types in which Vinoth and Senthilkumar [30] performed experimental
ellipsoidal design developed a better heat transfer than other studies on microchannel with oblique fins, alumina nanofluid
types of ribs. The maximum Nusselt number was seen for along with 0.25% volume fraction. Three different cross-
the Re = 75 with an increment of 57% with an increased fric- sections were used like square, semicircle and trapezoidal.
tion factor of 70% compared to conventional channels. Here, the study is majorly intended to investigate flow hydro-
dynamics on these different designs with varied mass flux.
Chen et al. [24] conducted an investigation on entropy Trapezoidal fin develops a 5.878% increased heat transfer
generated due to pin fin cylindrical structures. Their study with nanofluid as working fluid, this is comparatively higher
includes developing an optimal system with inlet velocity, than other cross-sections. Further selected works on a
heat load and finning material. They found that the genera - modified channel based passive heat transfer with the studied
tion of entropy increases with increasing aspect ratio of the domain and its varied parameters are listed in Table 1 [31-40].
sink and concluded that by opting reduced fluid velocity
with less aspect ratio accompanied with increased material 2.2. Fractal-Based Bifurcation
fraction can provide minimum entropy condition. Wong and
Lee [25] studied microchannels with triangular ribs in Enhancement in heat transfer is extended by creating frac-
microchambers to develop an optimal design by varying its tal tree based bifurcations which are a biomimicry of the fluid
design parameters. They studied parameters like friction fac - transport in the leaf of the plant. These fractal channels de-
tor, Nusselt number and thermal enhancement factor. They velop constricted passages along the flow with several
observed that the heat transfer increases with the increase in branches. This type of channel increases uniformity of the heat
design parameters like width and height but reduces with sink with increased pressure drop. Lorenzi et al. [41] con-
increasing length. They registered a highest Nusselt number ducted an investigation on the construction of non-uniform X-
for Reynolds number of 500 with width, length and height of structures for hotspot application. They performed the analysis
100, 400 and 120µm, respectively, up to 56% enhancement by varying length and angle between the pathways. They also
with conventional channels. observed by using X- shaped blades that generate 56% more
heat transfer enhancement than a single pathway. They also
Abdoli et al. [26] conducted numerical studies on pin fin
investigated I- shaped constructional studies for cooling appli-
structures for the application of cooling high heat flux in
cation by considering thermal resistance.
electronic devices. Their investigation on shapes includes
circular, hydrofoil, convex and altered hydrofoil with stag - Hajmohammadi et al. [42] performed a numerical inves-
gered fin arrangement. They have used a hotspot value of tigation of fork type flow patterns for the electronic cooling
2KW/cm2 for an area of 0.25mm 2 but remaining zones with application. They registered a maximum reduction of 46% in
1KW/cm2. According to them, hydrofoil pin shape found peak temperature by using the fork configurations. Accord -
better than the other designs with a reduced pumping power ing to them, the fork with angles found superior to the other
of 30.4% and 3.2% more effective than circular pin fins. high conductive pathways designs since it consumes only
They found that the altered hydrofoil fin decreases the one-third of the material for cooling high thermal zones.
maximum temperature by 6.4oC than circular design. Jimenez et al. [43] performed numerical analysis on
Shahabeddin et al. [27] investigated the effect of nanoflu- network-based cooling using a microchannel for electronic
ids on micro fins based heat exchangers. According to them, application. The investigation was performed for different
providing lower nanoparticle volume fraction can develop configurations to find the performances of thermal and hy-
better Coefficient of Performance (COP) with reduced en - draulic in accordance with pressure drop and average surface
tropy generation. Additionally, under lower Reynolds num- temperature. They observed that T-shaped microchannel was
ber, the effect of nanoparticle has negligible effect with in- found superior to Y-shaped networks. Also, T-shape in-
creased COP when alumina nanofluid was used as the cool - creases the development of uniform cooling with reduced
ing fluid. The study was performed by providing heat ex- thermal resistance.
4 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Table 1. Summary of Microchannel Sink Using Constructional Modifications.

Construction
Authors Computational Domain Remarks
Specifications

Adewumi Hs = 0.48mm - They observed that addition of pin fin increases the Global thermal
et al. [31] conductance
Wc = 0.04mm
Ws = 0.06mm - Diseriable results were ontained for limited three fins with six rows
above that the effect of heat transfer is negilible
Hc = 0.16mm
- They found that increase in Beijan number reduces the peak
temperature of the microchannel
- They concluded that microchannels with few rows having less
aspect ratio prvides the best results

Shafeie Hs = 1mm - They observed that the performance of microchannel is enhanced

et al. [32] Hc = 90-500µm by increasing the height of the fin

Wc = 27-35 µm - Optimal fin height is 300µM which provided better thermal

performance
Ws = 10000µm
- Performance of higher aspect ratio pin fins is better in smaller
L = 1cm channels
Hf = 330-500µm - They reported that for a constant pumping power oblique fin pattern
Df = 80-100µm provides better heat removal than staggered fin

Xie et al. Wc = 315µm - They observed that with the increase in bifurcation stages higher
[33] Hc = 400µm pressure drop is developed

TF = 15-35µm - Observed that local velocity in the microchannel with bifurcations

is higher than smooth channels and it is also a function of the length
Hs = 500 µm of plate
L1, L2 = 5mm- - Addition of bifurcation increases the thermal enhancement factor by
25mm 1.78 times more than normal channels

Li et al. Wc = 315µm - They obtained thermal enhancement by varying angle of Y arms and
[34] Hc = 400µm inlet velocity

Tw = 35µm - Result shows that when the angle between Y arm increases pressure
drop also increases
Tf = 35µm
- Addition of the y shaped bifurcations reduced the thermal resistance
Hs = 500μm compared to conventional microchannels
8 = 60-180° - Reported that 0 = 90° provided better performance

Table (1) contd….

Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 5

Construction
Authors Computational Domain Remarks
Specifications
Lee et al. WF = 0.485mm - Oblique microchannel performance is better than normal
[35] WC = 0.539mm microchannels by minimizing the total thermal resistance under
increased Reynolds number
PF = 1.995mm
- By introducing oblique fin in microchannels provides uniform heat
LF = 1.331mm removal capacity throughout the sink
WFg = 0.298mm - Boundary layer thickness is reduced along the flow direction and
8B = 27o supports secondary flows with frequent redevelopment
- Nusselt number increments 47% more than conventional
microchannels
- The heat transfer augmentation is better for fin angle 27°

Brinda Ws = 10mm - Having 3 stage ladder microchannel generates 3.85kPa which is

et al. [36] Hs = 16mm 162% more than conventional channels
Wc = 280 µm - Implementing 10 stage ladder substrate temperature is decreased by
7.3°C at Re 400 and at Re 2000 it goes up to 4.4°C
Wf = 500 µm
- By extending till 10 links microchannel thermal resistance drops by
20%

Chai et al. Lc = 10mm - Introduction of the ribs increases the fluid mixing and develops
[37] Wc = 315μm recirculation and vortex generation besides the channel wall
Hc = 0.2mm - Stagnation zone is developed behind the rectangular rib where the
maximum pressure is seen in the microchannel
HS = 0.35mm
- They suggested that for Re < 600 microchannel with rib is
LS = 20mm beneficial and more than Re > 600 ribs with interputted
Wt = 1.1mm microchannel is better
- Further thermal enhancement factor is reduced if Reynolds number
is more than 0.1mm of rib length

Liu et al. WC = 0.41- - Both heat transfer and friction factor increase with an increase in
[38] 0.355mm Reynolds number using staggered square pin fins
WFin = 0.445- - Transition of friction factor is observed at Re = 300
0.559mm - They proposed a new correlation for nusselt number as Re0.61
ST = 0.5657mm - Used 625 square fins in a staggered arrangement
SL = 0.5657mm

Table (1) contd….

6 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Construction
Authors Computational Domain Remarks
Specifications
Aliabadi Ws-2mm - Here alumina nanofluid is used as the working fluid with 0.1 and
et al. [39] WT-0.5mm 0.4% volume concentration
LC-50mm - Implementation of the ribs enhances heat transfer by chaotic
advection of working fluid
HC-1mm
- For the observed Re of 100-900 the maximum heat transfer
LR-1.3-5.4mm coefficient of 128% with maximum pressure drop of 185%
HS-5mm - Oblique positioning of the ribs is the best for wavy microchannel
- 0.4% nanofluid developed maximum heat transfer of 19.3% with
15.6% pressure drop

Chai et al. Ws-0.25mm - With rib length and its spacing between them develop a decrease in
[40] Wc-0.1mm Avg Friction factor but along the length, it increases
LC-10mm - By increasing the height of the rib and lowering the ratio of the rib
length to its spacing also increases the factor factor
HC-0.2mm
- But for the microchannels having offset rib placement has
LR-0.4mm developed lesser friction factor
HS-0.35mm

Farzaneh et al. [44] conducted numerical studies with mi- sure. They have witnessed negligible effects on bifurcation
crochannel loops for electronic cooling with lower thermal angle in terms of performance of the system. Xia et al. [48]
resistance. They have observed that the increase in branch investigated fractal tree based heat transfer for the applica-
number in the loop reduces the pressure drop with increased tion of cooling rotating spindles to study its heat transfer and
heat transfer. They reported that a maximum temperature of hydrodynamic performance. They have concluded that frac-
20% has been achieved with a reduction in pressure drop of tal microchannel develops better uniform temperature
maximum 33% for two branched microchannels. Their study distribution with less pressure drop. Moreover, this fractal-
also intended to optimize the best channel length to width ratio based system developed an increased coefficient of
in the branched networks. Fractal tree based heat transfer de- performance (COP) than the conventional helical based
vice with multilevel branching was developed using high cooling. At lower Reynolds number of Re = 200 fractal tree
thermal conductive materials by implementing carbon nano- system develops a temperature of 380°C but the helical sys-
tubes with enhanced vortex generation [45]. tem develops 420°C. As soon as the flow increases, the
Peng et al. [46] conducted an investigation to enhance temperature decreases for both the system.
heat transfer by bio mimic of plant fluid transport using frac- Liu et al. [49] performed an experimental and numerical
tal microchannel bifurcations. They investigated the influ- study with T-Y joint bifurcations with fractal tree type mi-
ence of porous media over heat transfer. They observed that crochannel. They used GaLnSn (Gallium Lanthanide Tin)
there was no effect on velocity along the direction of the coolant for heat transfer enhancement. Further, they obtained
flow. But the implementation of the permissible media al- a temperature difference of 27K for a heat flux range of
lowed developing better uniform temperature with reduced 106W/m2. Also, they reported an optimal bifurcation angle of
pressure drop. 60 degrees for better heat transfer. They presented two types
of channels one which efficiently develops uniform tempera-
Chen et al. [47] performed numerical analysis on fractal
tree microchannel to improve mass transfer and to investi- ture distribution and other with reduced pressure drop. Peng
gate its effects on temperature and pressure along the chan - et al. [50] performed experimental studies on vapor based
plant vein type bifurcation to enhance the heat dissipation for
nels. Furthermore, they have discussed the importance of the
bifurcation angle in terms of the chemical reaction and found electronic cooling. Besides this fractal bifurcation, the sys-
that the bifurcation angle is more efficient than serpentine tem also provided with micro fins to replicate tissues (Table
2) [51-60]. They have performed experiments with both DI
microchannel. They have observed an increased reaction rate
and ethanol as working fluids.
by optimally operating the reaction temperature and pres-
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 7

Table 2. Summary of Microchannel Using Fractal Bifurcations.

Author Computational Domains Remarks

Yu et al. Fractal tree based microchannel enhances heat transfer due to

[51] generated vortexes in the channels
Increase in pressure drop was observed for implementation of
fractal trees
Suggestions were made to form semi-circular bends in factral
trees to reduce the pressure with increased COP
Aspect ratio has major influence in pressure drop
development, heat transfer and COP

Zhang et al. Developed subsectional Integrated based method which has a

[52] close match with the experimental results
Studies proceeded by comparing with conventional method
which has higher deviation for friction factor and Nusselt
number with increase in Reynolds number

Zhang et al. Fractal-based microchannels are used for thermal studies and
[53] compared with straight and serpentine microchannels
They observed that aspect ratio and branching levels influence
heat transfer and fluid hydrodynamics properties
Fractal tree bends with fillets develops reduction in local
pressure drop
They concluded that the combined effect of lower aspect ratio
under high branching levels accompanied with fillets develops
desirable results

Zhang et al. Vortex developed in T and L connections in bifurcation trees

[54] where related to the developed recirculation and secondary
flow
Slower moving fluids are created near the walls of T and L
bends which increases the pressure drop
The induced vorticity increased for higher Reynolds number
and dropped with fin aspect ratio

Xu et al. Pressure drop in the multi-layer microchannel is lower than a

[55] single layer fractal channel with enhanced heat transfer
They reported 5 layer fractal tree sink which consumes 0.01-
0.1W on the other hand single layer requires 1.45W with re-
duced thermal resistance

Table (2) contd….

8 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Author Computational Domains Remarks

Ghaedamini Lower pressure drop in the fractal tree is developed for the
et al. [56] bifurcation angle of 30°
For higher branching, there is no effect in pressure drop in the
case of Snelteness 16 and 24 no influence on bifurcation angle
is formed
The pressure drop by 180° is superior for channels with higher
branching levels

Xu et al. Fractal tree generates better heat transfer for pulsating

[57] frequency of 10-20Hz
They reported that pulsating flow through fractal channels
comparatively develops cooling capacity with a reduced peak
temperature
Increase in pulsating frequency of 30-40Hz heat transfer is
increment by 40%
Very negilable differences between the pressure drop of
steady and pulsating flows were observed

Daniels Fractal microchannels developed pressure drop range from 20

et al. [58] to 90kPa and the maximum was observed for mass flow of
225g/min
Observed void fractions range from 0.3 to 0.9
These experimental void formations don't match with the
model since model influence more on the dominance of exit
quality for increased branching levels

Heymann Effectively implemented optimization methods like gradient-

et al. [59] based method and genetic algorithm to minimize the pumping
power within the error of 10%-25% at a different heat flux
Suggested lower branching on fractal trees for high heat flux
systems

Shui et al. They found branching microchannels develops better thermal

[60] absorption under increased Reynolds number
Experimental and numerical pressure drop predict more than
the friction factor correlation and lesser during the turbulent
regime.
Steam shows as a better-working fluid than air by 17% in
thermal performance and 20% less for friction factor
Tree branching in better than serpentine type channels with
more even cooling
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 9

2.3. Double Layer Microchannel

Several methodologies have been implemented to reduce
the streamwise temperature rise along the flow length of the
microchannel. The best convincing solution was proposed by
Vafai and Zhu [61]. The study was conducted with a
rectangular microchannel with cooling fluid passed in a
counter direction. They observed that by using double layer
microchannels streamwise temperature raise was balanced
with comparatively reduced pressure drop. The influence of
pressure drop in double layer microchannels is determined Fig. (2). Integrated microchannel with multiple cooling layers.
by allowing a combined double layer mass flow rate to a
single layer. It is found that the double layer generated lower loading. Additionally, they suspect whether these predictions
pressure drop with an optimal pressure ratio of 2.5-3.0. Simi- are appreciable under 3D chips where loading was varied
lar work on staged microchannel for more than two layers with location and time; however, observed better uniform
was investigated by Wei and Joshi [62]. They observed the temperature in junction and even lower temperature within
pressure drop to be lower for an increased number of stacks layers. Local temperature between layers is reduced from
than single. They pointed out that the stacking is efficient 15°C to 1.5°C. A further investigation of interlayer micro-
only when the sink has high thermal conductivity. They con - channel cooling in 3D circuits was conducted by Kim et al.
cluded under lower mass flow rate copper is the best suited [65]. They reported that using two-phase cooling with R134
for stacked microchannels. and R245 develops better results than single-phase working
fluids in the presence of hotspots shown in Fig. (3).

Fig. (1). Hotspot cooling with double layer microchannel.

Abdoli et al. [63] considered two layer microchannels for

hotspot cooling in electronic chips as shown in Fig. (1). The
hotspot dimension investigated was about 0.5 x 0.5mm in Fig. (3). Integrated microchannel with hotspot.
size. Two heat fluxes of 1500W/cm 2 and 2000W/cm 2 for
hotspot were used and a fixed flux of 1000W/cm 2 for re- A numerical study of hotspots cooling using double layer
maining portion of the chip. They observed two-layer con- microchannel using rectangular cross section was performed
figuration performed considerably well for heat flux of by Ansari and Kim [66] presented in Fig. (4). They evaluated
1000W/cm 2 but for the hotspot cases, authors suggested us- the hotspot cooling for two different settings one at the cen-
ing higher thermal conductive fluids and higher conductive ter and next for multiple hotspots distributed evenly. They
heat sinks. They observed a linearly varying stress developed observed reduced thermal resistance by using a heat sink
due to thermal gradients which generated a deformation in with the parallel flow for the case of single hot spot, while
the range of 50nm. for multiple hotspots, they suggested heatsink with trans-
verse flow due to lower thermal resistance. Zhai et al. [67]
Koo et al. [64] presented a theoretical investigation of performed comparative studies with staggered flow double
integrated cooling in a 3D electronic chip with multiple mi- layer microchannel to counterflow staggered type. Staggered
crochannel layers shown in Fig. (2). Their model predicts a type microchannel used in the study developed a better uni-
decrease in local wall temperature with increased outlet tem- form temperature. It is interesting to see that for the same
perature under the use of microchannels at higher thermal pumping power staggered model developed very low ther-

Fig. (4). Double layer microchannel with multiple hotspots.

10 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

mal resistance compared to single staggered and counter- 2.4. Effect of Microchannel Shapes
flow.
Initially, the performance studies on microchannels were
Wong and Ang [68] performed numerical studies with highly concentrated on finding the effective cross-section and
double layer microchannel by introducing flow contractions working fluid of the microchannel. Various manufacturing
in channels, shown in Fig. (5). The study reported that by methods were carried out to develop different hydraulic di-
tapered structures used in double layer counter flow gener- ameter and aspect ratio of the microchannel. The convective
ates better performance than a conventional double layer. heat transfer performance of the microchannel is effectively
Besides, the use of these taper generates high pumping augmented by the use of optimized cross-section with in-
power. They concluded that on considering the combined creased thermal conductive fluids. Use of these fluids drasti-
effect of thermohydraulic performance of the tapered struc- cally reduces the response time of the cooling with a low vol -
tures is very low compared to conventional double layer. A ume of working fluids at a three-fold increase in heat transfer
similar study performed with Al 2O3-H2O to find an optimal coefficient. This augmentation is attributed to increased Rey-
tapering factor in double layer microchannel is done by nolds number, channel structures, volume fraction of nanoflu-
Kumar et al. [69]. They also observed similar results of ids and surface morphologies. Sadasivam
lower thermal performance for all the tapers put to study. et al. [71] investigated forced convection through trapezoidal
But the use of nanofluids increased the heat transfer per- and hexagonal ducts. The result shows the dependency of as-
formance and reduced thermal resistance for a volume frac- pect ratio and cross section area for various wall angles in heat
tion of 7%. Finally, they concluded that the overall perform - transfer augmentation. Koo and Kleinstrener [72] used copper
ance of a tapered double layer was not satisfactory even after oxide nanofluid in a trapezoidal microchannel with water and
using nanofluids and they recommended that the tapered Ethylene Glycol as base fluid. They observed an increase in
microchannels were highly preferred. Arabpour et al. [70] heat transfer up to 4% by using higher Prandtl number fluids.
conducted an investigation on the effect of double layer us- Wu and Cheng [73] studied friction factor in a smooth trape-
ing kerosene/MWCNT nanofluid subjected to oscillating zoidal silicon with different aspect ratios. Dharaiya and Kan-
heat flux shown in Fig. (6). The double channels were stud- dlikar [74] studied the effect of 2D sinusoidal elements using
ied with three different dimensional lengths (Z) such as 1/3, roughness height and roughness pitch accurately. They estab-
2/3, and 3/3. They observed Z of 1/3 satisfied maximum lished that the wall temperature according to the roughness
thermal performance criterion on various working conditions profile is higher at the bottom of the roughness element.
and nanofluid volume fractions in a counterflow direction. Higher roughness height decreases the heat sink efficiency due
to the reduction of the hydraulic diameter and also increases
the friction factor. They also modeled a channel with hydrau-
lic diameter 175µm which generates an enhancement of
264.8% with the surface roughness height of 20µm. Jung et al.
[75] conducted forced convective heat transfer using alumina
nanofluid and their convective heat transfer coefficient in -
creased up to 32% compared to pure fluid at a volume fraction
of 1.8 without major pressure drop. However, this is contra -
dicting to the experimental observation of Suresh et al. [76]
where they used circular cross-section with 0.1 volume frac-
tion of alumina nanofluid and more pressure drop is registered
than the pure fluid.
Guo et al. [77] developed 2D and 3D Gauss surface
roughness models which were made to compare with the
Fig. (5). Double layer microchannels with contractions.
smooth microchannel; however, 2D roughness model failed
to match the real surface roughness. Roughness plays a

Fig. (6). Double layer microchannel with nonlinear heat flux.

Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 11

positive role in increasing thermal performance of the heat hybrid nanofluids (Al 2O3 and Ag/Water). The studies were
sink. Numerical investigation of particle interaction due to reported for the effect of various Reynolds number, volume
Brownian motion in trapezoidal channel using copper oxide fraction and particle size with water as base fluid. The gov-
nanofluid is reported by Fani et al. [78]. Travnicek and Vit erning equations were computed by Simplified Marker and
[79] investigated reversible pulsating jet to enhance heat and Cell (SMAC) procedure with a non-staggered grid using
mass transfer by 12-40% which is more suitable to increase FVM. Further, the interface temperatures between solid and
the collision between the nanoparticles. Glagar et al. [80] fluid regions for different nanofluids were also analyzed.
studied compact heat exchangers with different Results provide 148% increase in heat transfer coefficient for
microchannel shapes. 3D numerical simulations were also the use of (0.6vol% Al 2O3 + 2.4vol% Ag) than the pure wa-
done assuming constant temperature or constant heat flux on ter. Li and Kleinstreuer [85] presented a numerical investiga-
the pipe walls. The study states that microchannel shape in - tion with trapezoidal microchannel using CuO/Water nan-
fluences the heat transfer effectiveness and pressure drop. ofluids. The analysis performed for the particle diameter of
They also conclude that best achievement was accomplished 28.6nm for the range of 1-4% of volume fractions. The com-
with microchannels of diamond and hexagonal shape. In - putations were carried out to compare KKL (Koo-
crease in heat transfer with enhanced cooling and flow rate Kleinstreuer-Li) model with Brownian- motion model. For
was developed by implementing triangular microchannel, it the maximum volume fraction of 4%, increase in pressure
generated a thermally stable system under higher heat flux drop was found to be 15%. Akbarina et al. [86] performed an
situations [81]. From the above-reported studies, microchan- investigation on rectangular microchannel with alumina nan-
nels cross sections with higher surface developed better heat ofluid using FVM. The analyses were intended to study on
transfer performance but with increased pressure drop. Slight slip and non-slip flows regimes in microchannel. Their result
effects of surface roughness and microchannel imperfections states that the increase in volume fraction does not enhance
lead to a huge increase in enhancement of microchannels.
the Nusselt number, on contrary; the inlet velocity augments
Although it is practically impossible to experiment with a
the heat transfer. The particle concentration does not have
microfabricated device without surface abnormalities and
considerable effect in Poiseuille number for examined Re.
additionally it is very difficult to fabricate very complex mi-
crochannel systems. But, it is totally possible to predict nu - Tsai and Chein [87] analytically reported the investigation
merically the difference in enhancements due to surface of microchannel heat sinks using copper-CNT/Water. The
modifications up to some extent. Furthermore, by efficiently results were obtained for thermal resistance and performance
adopting the numerical model for nanofluid we can solve the characteristics of nanofluids. They found that the reduction in
practical issues like agglomeration and can also predict the conductive thermal resistance and thermal capacity of the
cycle time of the microchannel device. sinks by using nanofluids. The analysis was performed by
including the porous medium model for nanofluid used in the
2.5. Numerical Studies on Microchannel microchannel and the result suggests that better performance
was obtained for optimum porosity and aspect ratio. They
Kalteha et al. [82] numerically investigated forced con-
used a channel height of 364µm with 88 channels for 4% vol-
vection of nanofluids in a microchannel using a two-phase
ume fraction. Abbassi and Aghanajafi [88] investigated conju-
method by implementing Finite Volume Method (FVM).
gate heat transfer in a microchannel heat sink using a
They coupled both the phases of copper-water nanofluids to
combined analytical and numerical approach. The governing
simulate the Eulerian two-fluid model. Cosine weighting
function is used to refine the grids of the wall and entrance equations were based on porous medium model accompanied
length of the channel. Line by line method is used in numeri - with Darcy equation. The study involved by assuming the
cal scheme and power law for discretizing the convection ultrafine copper nanoparticles dispersed in a base fluid. The
and diffusion terms. Mass conservation of the particle and thermal dispersion model is adopted for heat transfer analysis
fluid was obtained for pressure correction equation in order and it is also integrated with the effect involving interfacial
to use simple algorithm. They state that the two-phase model shells between nanoparticles and base fluid. They also investi-
provides the uniform distribution of nanoparticles throughout gated the influence of particle concentration, Reynolds num-
the flow region. They numerically depicted that the nanopar- ber and thermal dispersion coefficient. Work is extended to
ticles inclusion increases the thermal boundary layer signifi- find the effect of heat transfer in a turbulent region. It also
cantly. Further analysis registered that increase in volume reveals that nanofluid does not influence the temperature dis-
fraction increases the pressure drop for an increase in Rey- tribution of the channel wall.
nolds number. Izadi et al. [83] numerically studied the per- Zhou et al. [89] conducted a numerical study on silicon
formance of Alumina nanofluids in an annulus. Single phase microchannel within a trapezoidal and triangular cross-section
model has been implemented to study hydrodynamics and using water as cooling fluid. The governing equations were
thermal characteristics of nanofluids. According to their discretized using FVM. Field synergy principle was discussed
study, there is no change in dimensionless velocity due to the on the effect of varying Reynolds number and its influence on
increase in volume fraction but the temperature distribution channel geometry. From their studies, velocity and tempera -
is influenced highly by the volume fraction. Single phase ture gradient are in better synergy when the Reynolds number
model assumes the use of ultra-fine nanoparticles which is in is less than 100. Their study suggests that trapezoidal geome-
the range less than 50nm. The numerical computation were try provide better heat transfer. Their investigation concluded
carried for various Reynolds number (Re = 100-900) and that the Nusselt number was found to be increasing in fully
volume fraction (Vf = 0-5%) for a particle diameter of 25nm. developed region which is contradictory in the case of conven-
Nimmagadda and venkatasubbaiah [84] discussed the tional ducts. Jang and Choi [90] performed numerical investi-
numerical studies on conjugate heat transfer analysis using gation in a microchannel using diamond and copper nanoflu-
12 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

ids. Their result shows that 1% of diamond nanofluid en- enhances the system by reducing local peak temperature with
hances the performance of 10% than water for the same pump- high uniform temperature distribution. Porous microchannel
ing power of 2.25W. They suggest that the inclusion of increases the mixing of the working fluids with an increase
nanoparticles reduces the thermal resistance of the heat sink. in local velocities. Further, the pressure in the system also
Bhattacharya et al. [91] performed numerical studies on con- reduces by optimizing the influential parameters like poros-
jugate heat transfer in rectangular cross section using alumina ity and permeability. Dehghan et al. [113] performed an ana-
nanofluids in silicon microchannel. Single phase model is used lytical study on improving the heat transfer in microchannel
by considering particle as ultrafine with the thermal dispersion heat transfer using porous media. They have used Darcy-
model (Table 3) [92-112]. They have also implemented field Brickmann equation and the Two-energy equation for solv-
synergy principle on forced convective heat transfer. There is ing fluid flow and heat transfer in a porous medium.
13.6% reduction in thermal resistance by the use of nanofluids Underperformance studies, they have evaluated the parame-
due to increase in synergy angle. Simulation also reveals that ters like porosity, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance
better synergy level is seen for higher concentration. Decrease and internal heat generation. According to them, the use of
in thermal resistance by 7.8% was reported for an increase in rarefied porous media increases the heat transfer perform -
Reynolds number from 250 to 500 for a constant volume frac- ance. They have also observed that the heat transfer in po-
tion of 2%. rous media under a slip condition is higher than that of the
no-slip condition. Further, they have investigated for forced
3. POROUS MICROCHANNEL convection in porous microchannel using scale analysis (Fig.
7) [114].
Porous media filled in the channel actively increases the
surface area with a higher heat transfer coefficient. It also

Table 3. Summary of the Microchannels with Various Channel Cross-Sections.

Nature of
Author Year Working Fluid Channel Details Remarks
Work
Leng et al. [92] 2015 Water Rectangular (double) Numerical Multi parameter optimization
Azizi et al. [93] 2015 Copper nan- Cylinder Experimental 25nm spherical copper nanoparticles were
ofluid used
Rostami et al. [94] 2015 Water Rectangular (wavy) Numerical Optimization for maximum Nu is done

Dh  f S, H  
2S.H
SH

Haller et al. [95] 2009 Water Rectangular Experimental Due to L and T bends vortices developed due
and numerical to flow increases the temperature gradient
near the walls.
Leelavinothan and 2014 Water Rectangular Numerical Increased number of inlets augments heat
Rajan [96] transfer by more boundary layer formations
Yang et al. [97] 2014 Copper oxide Trapezoidal Numerical Used single phase and two-phase numerical
nanofluid 3D models

Kuppusamy et al. [98] 2014 Water Rectangular Numerical Thermal performance augments due to the
L = 180µM implementation of secondary passage.
H = 25.5µM
Silva et al. [99] 2008 Water Dh = 637µM Numerical and Flow visualization
Experimental
Lee et al. [100] 2012 Water Rectangular Numerical Used synthetic jet
Guzman et al. [101] 2013 Air Rectangular channel Numerical Heat Transfer is 50% higher for quasi-
with interrupted blocks 2D periodic when compared with periodic and
laminar flows
Che et al. [102] 2015 Mineral Oil Rectangular Numerical Heat transfer study on recirculation in drop-
with water 3D lets and near the channel walls is discussed
droplets
Kwon and Kim [103] 2015 Water Rectangular (double Experimental This designs capillary pressure dominates to
diameter channel) reduce the friction developed a pressure drop
Sampaio et al. [104] 2015 - Rectangular Experimental Visualization of plasma layers in blood
W = 100-350, H = 30-40

Table (3) contd….

Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 13

Nature of
Author Year Working Fluid Channel Details Remarks
Work
Heck and Papavas- 2013 Water Rectangular Numerical Super hydrophobic surfaces are studied
siliou [105] B = 2µM, H = 5µM, W 3D
= 2µM
Lin et al. [106] 2014 Carbon dioxide Circular Experimental Heat transfer enhancement is observed only at
Dh = 1000µM turbulent regime

Rawool et al. [107] 2006 - Square Numerical Studies were conducted by providing an
100 x 100µM obstacle on the flow path

Xiong and Chung 2010 Water Circular Numerical Bi-cubic Coons patch is used to construct the
[108] D = 50µM 3D micro-tubes with surface roughness
L = 100µM
Noorian et al. [109] 2014 Liquid Argon Rectangular Numerical Surface roughness studies using molecular
Nanochannel 2D dynamics simulation
Triangular and Cylinder
roughness
Noorian et al. [110] 2014 Liquid Argon Nanochannel Numerical Surface roughness studies using checker
3D Cube 3D molecular dynamics simulation
3D Sphere roughness
Chen et al. [111] 2010 - - Numerical Channel is constructed using fractal surface
2D roughness

Zhao and Yao [112] 2011 - Rectangular Numerical The transition effects from laminar to turbu-
lent with roughness inclusion in were investi-
gated

Fig. (7). Sintered porous microchannel, Zhang et al. [114].

Torabi and Peterson [115] performed thermodynamic flux, entropy generation increases with the temperature
study in microchannel filled with porous media subjected to jump.
magnetic field. The study consists of two different condi-
Shena et al. [117] performed computational studies on
tions where constant temperature was provided at both the
microchannel heat sinks with different porous Y structures.
top and the bottom walls. Later, the lower wall was provided
They considered a range of Re from 170 to 554 and its po-
by constant flux and upper wall with convection boundary
rosity from 0.7 to 0.9. They observed an increase in heat
condition. They found the influence of magnetic field in the
transfer for combined microchannel and porous media. The y
movement of fluid at the porous interface. Higher Nusselt
have developed 44% lesser thermal resistance by having
number has been observed by providing a specific number to
porous Y structures along the flow. These y types develop
the temperature coefficient. Additionally, they have per-
disturbances along the flow of the fluid. Further, they de-
formed investigations to develop a model for interface en -
velop pumping power more than 0.1W. Lu et al. [118] de-
tropy generation in Torabi et al. [116]. It has been found that
veloped a new model to reduce pressure drop and thermal
for lower values of temperature jump the overall entropy
resistance at the same time by using microchannels accom -
generation was not affected by the interface generation. By
panied with wavy type porous fins. By using a new model
solving these two cases they have come to the conclusion
they observed the thermal resistance to reduce by 16.5% and
that changing the temperature jump coefficient, total entropy
pressure drop to 39.0% compared to conventional design.
generation can be modified. In such case, total entropy drops
Furthermore, it has been observed that with the increment in
on constant temperature boundary condition but in constant
14 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

the amplitude of the wavy channel, pressure drop reduces but fer mechanism at initial stages of boiling. Zeng et al. [138]
thermal resistance is still higher. In short heat transfer is re- performed an investigation on the effect of powder size in an
duced by increasing the amplitude of the wavy channel (Fig. interconnected microchannel with porous media. They con-
8) [119]. cluded that the powder sizing of 50-75µm provides better
performance due to its balanced permeability and capillary
pressure effects. Further, on their pool boiling study, they
found that the particle size of the porous microchannel is a
highly influential parameter for the estimation of heat trans-
fer coefficient. Additional work on porous boiling is summa-
rized in Table 5 [139-147].

5. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES
Figure 9 depicts the schematics of the flow line required
to conduct the basic experimental investigations using mi-
crochannels. The test module consists of parallel microchan -
nel connected with a cartridge heater to provide heat flux.
The cartridge heater is controlled by regulated power supply.
Fig. (8). SEM image of porous reentrant microchannel, Deng et al. A peristaltic pump is connected to the microchannel to pro-
[119]. vide a pulsating flow. The outlet is connected to a secondary
heat exchanger to reduce the outlet temperature of the work -
Seetharamu et al. [120] performed numerical investiga- ing fluid to the room temperature before it is let to the sump
tions with channel filled porous medium involving variable which stores the fluid. The fluid is actively stirred in a low
wall heat flux and temperature condition under non- RPM to stabilize the dispersion of the working fluid. The
equilibrium thermal models with internal heat generation. heat sink is connected with the thermocouples to record the
They have performed parametric studies using Biot number necessary change in temperature at the inlet and the outlet of
(Bi), wall temperature ratio, solid and fluid interface thermal the channel.
conductivity. They have observed that Bi = 0.5-50 Nusselt Manay and Sain [148] conducted experiments to study
number increases with increase in Darcy number. For higher the influence of channel height on heat transfer and pressure
wall heat flux, Nu was observed to decrease with increasing drop characteristics. TiO 2 with the particle diameter of 25nm
Darcy number and later it becomes constant. The nusselt dispersed nanofluid was dispersed with volume fraction
number was found lesser for the wall with uneven wall tem- ranging from 0.25 to 2%. The work was carried out with four
peratures. The nusselt number increases with increasing different channel heights ranging from 200 to 500µm for a
temperature jump coefficient and decreases for higher inter- constant flux of 80kW/m 2. Their results provide that increase
nal heat generation. Heydari et al. [121] employed truncated in channel height increases the pressure drop and reduces the
ribs with different orientation and attached with triangular heat transfer rate. However, the TiO 2 nanofluids enhanced
microchannel using TiO 2 nanofluid. They observed that by heat transfer than pure fluid. Rimbault et al. [149] performed
using this model maximum efficiency was obtained for Re = an experimental study on copper oxide nanofluid in a micro-
400. Using TiO 2 nanofluid with 4% of volume fraction, channel heat sink with a particle diameter of 29nm. Tests
Nusselt number achieved was 1.7 times more than the pure were conducted with different volume fractions ranging from
fluids. The effect of nanoparticles is less dominant and lower 0.24 to 4.5% for both laminar and turbulent regimes. The
velocity and parallelly the effect of ribs is not desirable. lo- conditions of isothermal and heated test were analyzed with
pez et al. [122] performed analytical study over vertical mi- Re = 2500 and Re = 5000. Additionally, 70% increase in
crochannel with porous media using nanofluid. They have friction factor is noted for a volume fraction of 4.5%. From
used Al2O3 nanofluid for their magneto-hydrodynamic stud- the results of suspended fluid, they observed that the transi -
ies. Considering nonlinear thermal radiation their result tion from laminar to turbulent at Re = 1000 was seen similar
proved that the global entropy generation increases with to that of water. Also, behavior of nanoparticles does not
nanoparticle concentration and Reynolds number. Summary have an impact when we include pumping power to our
of several other studies is reported in Table 4 [123-136]. analysis and this further decreases when volume fraction is
increased.
4. MICROCHANNEL BOILING
Zhang et al. [150] experimented with Alumina nanofluid
Chen et al. [137] conducted an experimental investiga- in a circular microchannel with the diameter of 500µm with
tion of porous microchannel flow boiling with intercon- the particle volume fraction ranging from 0.25 to 0.77%.
nected nets. They found that under high heat flux situation Tests were focused to determine the effect of nanoparticles
porous interconnected microchannel performs better than over the Nusselt number and particle concentration. Increase
reentrant porous microchannel by overcoming the bubble in heat transfer attained for maximum volume fraction with
clogging problem. Also, porous interconnected microchannel the increment of 10.6%. A correlation was also proposed for
develops predominate condensation effects under lower wall the Nusselt number with the experimental results with a de-
superheat conditions with increased mass flux at intercon- viation of -4% and +5%. Peyghambarzadeh et al. [151] per-
nected microchannel. Nucleate boiling dominates heat trans- formed an experimental investigation on rectangular Cu-Be
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 15

Table 4. Summary of Porous Microchannel.

Author Year Fluid Shape Specifications Remarks

Hung et al. [123] 2013 Water Rectangular, trape- F = 0.66 Pressure drop is increased by porous medium and lowest is
zoidal and sandwich Re = 45-1350 by using sandwich design
thin rectangular Thermal performance can be increased by increasing Re
Ting et al. [124] 2015 Alumina Rectangular F = 0.9 For high aspect ratio, microchannel with an increase in
nanofluid Re = 0-200 volume fraction reduced the entropy generation for lower
Reynolds Number.
Hatami and Ganji 2014 Copper nan- Rectangular F = 0-1 Nu is increased for higher Aspect ratio due to better
[125] ofluid Ø = 0-0.06 nanoparticles interaction with the solid region

Hung et al. [126] 2013 Water Rectangular F = 0.6 Increased height of outlet region has more possibility of
Re = 0-1600 reducing pressure drop in porous microchannel

Ting et al. [127] 2014 Alumina Rectangular F = 0.9 At low Reynolds number, nanofluid in porous media cre-
nanofluids Re = 0-150 ates 12% increase in Heat transfer coefficient

Chuana et al. [128] 2015 Water Rectangular F = 0.6 New fin design drastically reduces the pressure drop by
(Porous Fin) 43-47.9% but an increase in thermal resistance is by order
of 4.1-4.9%
Ting et al. [129] 2015 Alumina Rectangular F = 0.95 Average heat transfer coefficient is increased by 47% by
nanofluid Re = 0-120 symmetrical heating with nanofluids
Buonomo et al. [130]
Khadami [131] 2016 - - F = 0.9 -
Poormehran et al. 2015 Copper nan- Rectangular Ø = 0.01-0.04 The optimum values of parameters are
[132] ofluid and Dn = 35-50nm Ø = 0.01-0.04
Alumina
A = 800
nanofluids
Dn = 35-50nm
F = 45
Hung and Yan [133] 2013 Water Rectangular F = 0.55-0.85 76.6% of Enhancement is achieved by increasing the po-
rosity to 0.85
Hung et al. [134] 2013 Water Rectangular F = 0.6-0.85 Decrease in thermal resistance is noticed with increase in
pump power
Hung and Yan [135] 2013 Deionised Rectangular F = 0.55-0.85 Optimization of the channel parameters is done using
water (Sandwich) inverse method by conjugate gradient method.

Ting et al. [136] 2015 Alumina Rectangular Ø = 2% Heat transfer irreversibility is increased when channel is
nanofluid L = 0.03m F = 0.95 heated asymmetrically but fluid friction is less dominated
Dp = 5nm by thermal asymmetrically effects
2H = 480µM
Aluminium porous Re = 0-150 2 energy equation model
channel

Table 5. Porous Flow Boiling.

Working
Author Year Specifications Parameters Remarks
Fluid
Deng et al. [139] 2015 Deionised Copper channel Circular Nucleate boiling is possible at very low wall
water and D = 0.8mm DH = 798µm superheats using RPM (reetent porous micro-
ethanol channel)
L = 45mm F = 0.39
W = 20mm dp = 75-110µM
H = 2mm Ra = 2.9µM
Pengaan Bai [140] 2014 Copper - Dp= 80-140µM Flow boiling stability is improved in porous
channel F= 0.5 microchannel than smother microchannel
Analysis of flow resistance and convective heat
transfer is conducted experimentally
Table (5) contd….
16 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Working
Author Year Specifications Parameters Remarks
Fluid
Li et al. [141] 2015 Porous - F = 0.681 -
stainless Ç = 0.985
sheets St = 0.1mm
Jaikumar and Kandil- 2015 Water Rectangular Dp = 10-20µM CHF = 128W/cm2,Wsh = 19.5°C
kar [142] Copper Wc = 762µM Ct = 100µM Sintered throughout gives 580kW/m2 °C Heat
channel Hc = 40µM Transfer Coefficient (HTC) for q = 3000W/m 2
Wf = 200µM when compared to plane channels

Tang et al. [143] 2016 Deionised Rectangular Dp = 50-75µM, 25- Maximum HTC and Wall Temperature (WT) for
water Pc = 1.2P/m 50µM and 100- the particle range of 50-75µM
Copper Wc = 0.40-0.70W/mm 125µM Higher wall superheat is obtained for Wc = 0.40
(Spherical) F = 0.38-0.58
Jaikumar and Kandil- 2015 FC-87 Rectangular Increase in CHF is observed for higher width, but
kar [144] Wc = 300-762µM not in the case of depth
Dc = 200-400µM
Wf = 200µM
Deng et al. [145] 2015 Water - F = 0.39 (Flow visualization)
Copper dp = 75-110µM Two-phase
Rc =  
350µM, 4A 4Wslot H slot  r 2 / 2  Wslot rcos 2  / 2 / 2
  
400µM and Dh 
c,s
450µM P 2Hslot Wslot  r
  2  arcsinWslot / 2r 
RPM two-phase heat flows are more independent
on heat flux and independent to mass flux
Bai et al. [146] 2013 Anhydrous Rectangular (SS) dp = 540µM Experimental, numerical studies
ethanol (copper porous coated) -Single and two-phase regions analyzed
Wc = 400µM Flow boiling heat transfer argumentation strictly
Hc = 900µM drops on particle size
Lc = 32mm 55µM is the optimum range
Zhang et al. [147] 2016 Deionised Rectangular dp = 50-75µM Flow Visualization studies
water Wc = 0.40mm F = 0.58 Bubble diameter is bigger in interconnected nets
Copper Pc = 1.2mm for a complete range of flux than porous inter-
Hc = 1.1mm connected nets

alloy microchannel with CuO and Al 2O3nanofluid. The study for both the cross-sections. Xia et al. [153] conducted an
was performed for a constant heat flux of 19W/cm 2 with the experimental study on microchannel heat exchangers using
Reynolds number ranging from 500 to 2000. The study per- oxide nanofluids like alumina and titanium dioxide. The
formed in a channel dimension of 400µm x 560µm with 17 nanofluids were prepared by a two-step process with the
such channels to analyses heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt volume fraction ranging from 0 to 1%. They used PVP (Poly
number and pressure drop. Maximum enhancement was pro- Vinyl Pyrrolidone) for the stability of particle and also to
vided by alumina nanofluid of 49% with 1% volume fraction reduce aggregation. They have used IR imaging to investi-
compared to that of copper oxide of 27% with 0.2% volume gate the temperature distribution over heat sink. This reveals
fraction. According to them, CuO has better enhancement that thermal motion of nanoparticles would influence the
than alumina; they also registered that increment is not due early breakage of laminar flow and enhance the fluid and
to volume fraction but due to increased Reynolds number. channel wall heat transfer.
Ahmed et al. [152] conducted an experimental study on Anoop et al. [154] performed experimental studies on
double layered microchannel with triangular and rectangular microchannel with the suspensions containing silica
cross-sections. The experimental series was carried out by nanoparticles for constant wall temperature conditions. Their
suspending alumina and silicon nanoparticles. According to results showed that an increase in flow rate enhanced heat
their study, double layered channels provide better perform - transfer for both pure fluid and nanofluids. However, com -
ance compared to conventional single layered. Their results paratively higher enhancement is seen for lower flow rates
showed that triangular double layer provided wall tempera- using nanofluids. They also performed a fouling test on mi -
ture reduction by 27.4% than double rectangular layered and crochannel by performing electron microscope examination
it also provides better uniformity of temperature. The due to nanoparticles precipitation. Yang et al. [155] per-
triangular double layer has 16.6% less thermal resistance; formed a numerical and experimental study on different sets
moreover, there were no significant changes in pressure drop of pin fin arrangements. Lowest pressure drop has been ob-
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 17

Fig. (9). Schematics of microchannel experimental flow line.

tained for circular pin fins configurations and their results extreme channel. Due to this outlet temperature of the ex-
were validated numerically. Several novel works were pro- treme channels are higher and develops minimal heat trans-
posed with a different experimental approach for various fer near outlet region of the microchannels. Use of parallel
applications which are summarized in Table 6 [156-165]. microchannels to mitigate hotspot allowed to notice that heat
sinks subjected with two different hotspot types one which
5.1. Electronic Hotspot Cooling developed due to flow maldistribution and other formed by
the localized heat flux developed by the devices. Addition -
Localized high-temperature regions in processors are ally, by optimizing the location of hotspots and introducing
referred to as hotspots, these are developed due to high - that nanofluid developed better results than water, but still
speed circuits, due to which lower transistor threshold volt - flow induced hotspot were present in the sink for most of the
age develops a higher source to drain leakage. This leakage cases in the literature. In most of the microchannel configu-
current in the transistor is a limiting factor on the rations flow induced hotspot is formed near the outlet region
development of lower power processors since this generates of the heat sink irrespective to the sink design.
hotspots. However, the comparatively lower temperature is
witnessed by cache zones of microprocessor this produces a An experimental investigation of embedded cooling sys-
non-uniform power and temperature distribution in the proc- tems to effectively minimize the hotspots in electronic sys-
essors. Due to this the temperature difference in the proces - tems is performed by Sharma et al. [166]. They implemented
sors tries to reach up to 5 to 30K. This hotspot is an acute novel concept of slot nozzles with manifold microchannels,
issue for the latest highly integrated compact devices and has they reported that by providing the fluid access directly
the potential to reduce the effectiveness of the cooling sys- above the chip will reduce the pressure drop and increase the
tem. heat transfer by reducing the thickness of the thermal bound-
ary layer by impinging jets. Sharma et al. [167] performed
Primarily in literature, the hotspot issue is addressed by numerical approach on hotspot targeted conjugate heat trans-
using the embedded cooling system, jet impingement, slot fer studies and additional investigation on optimization on
nozzles etc. but predominantly it is by implementing micro- the power maps in multicore by providing nonuniform heat
channels. However flow inside the microchannels are not flux at different regions ranging from 20W/cm 2 to
uniform and highly dependent on the type of flow configura- 300W/cm2. They used response surface model (RSM) to
tion (e.g. C-Type, Z-Type and I-Type) which give rise to optimize the system by majorly concentrating to develop an
localized high-temperature zones due to fluid maldistribu- optimal channel structure combined with a better flow rate.
tion. Suppose in the case of Parallel I-Type microchannels By optimizing the system nonuniform temperature distribu-
the mass flow rates in the middle channels is higher than the tion got reduced by 54% for a steady heat flux of 300W/cm 2.
18 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Table 6. Novel Experimental Techniques in Microchannel Heat Sinks.

Microchannel Device Experimental Description

1  Beni et al. [156] developed special microchannel for high

power laser
 They used Laser cutting of copper plates and stacked
together by soldering

2  Double layer serpentine based microchannel is developed

by Narendran et al. [157]
 Micromachining is implemented in manufacturing the
channels

3  Wang and Ding [158] demonstrated a novel longitudinal

and transverse microchannel as a single unit using a silicon
substrate and copper heat spreader using UV- Lithography

4  Narendran et al. [159] demonstrated combined effects of

microchannel and heat spreader for electronic cooling
application
 Electro Discharge Machining is used to manufacture
microchannels and Silver soldering is made between copper
spreader and channels

Table (6) contd….

Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 19

Microchannel Device Experimental Description

6  Murphy et al. [160] developed novel ceramic based stacked

continuous pass microchannel reactor by Green sintering
process

7  Kirsch and Thole [161] developed wavy microchannel

using an additive manufacturing process
 They used Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) Technique
for printing microchannels

8  Kelly et al. [162] novel pulsating heat pipe based heat

spreader which contains fractal microchannels made up of
the Brass plate for cooling Hotpots using the two-phase
phenomenon

Table (6) contd….

20 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Microchannel Device Experimental Description

Hybrid Microscale cooling devices

9  Sharma et al. [163] developed embedded microchannel heat
sink with multiple inlets and outlet slot nozzles to
effectively cool hotspots. The test chip is manufactured by
photo Lithography technique

10  Robinson et al. [164] developed microchannels combined

with hybrid microjet impingement arrays which are
manufactured using MICA free-form method

11  Drummond et al. [165] studied Hierarchical based manifold

microchannels to reduce conductive and contact resistance
in microchannels. They used UV-Lithography to fabricate
the microchannel unit

Further, they presented an approach to develop an effective their cooling system effectively maintains the temperature
design to implement efficient hot spot cooling. Maganti et al. below 65°C with a marginal pressure drop. Their inlet fluid
[168] performed an investigation on selecting an optimal temperature is about 21.5°C. Lee et al. [171] conducted an
parallel microchannel to target hotspots in multicore proces- experimental investigation on the obliquely finned micro-
sors. They have used Intel i7-4770 processor for their study. channel heatsink. Here, they investigated the effectiveness of
Additionally, investigation of fluid maldistribution accom- the oblique fin by varying the fin pitch for cooling hotspot
panied with induced temperature maldistribution is captured regions. They reported that more than two hotspot condition
by both numerically and experimentally. Eulerian- the performance of the oblique enhanced microchannel de-
Lagrangian models were considered for modeling the nan- veloped more uniform temperature in the microchannel.
ofluid flow in the system. They concluded that the increase
in flow maldistribution concurrently increases the thermal Han et al. [172] performed an experimental investigation
maldistribution. on hotspots cooling using diamond heat spreader accompa-
nied with microchannel Gallium nitride (GaN) heat sink.
Drummond et al. [169] investigated intra chip hotspot Additionally, numerical investigation was performed using
cooling using hierarchical manifold based microchannel COMSOL software considering temperature dependent ma-
cooling. They investigated the hotspot fluxes greater than terial properties. The hotspot was developed by 8 micro
2500W/cm 2 and maintained 30°C as the average temperature heaters with power varying from 10 to 50W. They observed
of the chip with a pressure drop generated up to 75kPa. Inlet that by providing diamond heat spreader the maximum
and outlet are provided perpendicular to the chip. They es - heater temperature reduces up to 22.9%. Microchannel heat
tablished a cooling of 500W/cm 2 with 50kPa of pressure spreaders involving highly conductive materials to spread
drop. Lorenzini et al. [170] investigated embedded microflu- high heat flux can be implemented with multiple inlets and
idic cooling by implementing micro gaps between pin fin outlets to generate better heat transfer performance [173].
structures for migrating hotspot. They have used pure fluid Additionally, the manifold based microchannel is developed
for cooling by passing them between 200µm gap for a varied using targeted multiple inlet and outlet ports which is effi -
hotspot ranging from 250 to 750W/cm 2. They claim that cient in cooling local high heat flux zones [174].
Advances in Microchannel Heat Sink - A Review Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 21

Okamoto et al. [175] conducted an investigation on hot- bined work of making microfabrication economically liable,
spot cooling on both vertical and horizontal flow to provide a developing materials which are compatible to the system and
comparison on its efficiency. They concluded that the verti- the most important boom is the software which integrated
cal flow provides better cooling for 3D processors. Analyti- these devices that made it possible to reach us the level of
cal study on the flow distribution in parallel microchannels most sophisticated gadgets that we adore today. Now, we are
with stepped inlet /outlet manifolds was presented by So- on the verge of transformation tunnel to IoT (Internet of
lovitz [176]. According to them under lower Reynolds num- Things) revolution, which is going to empower the human
ber flow distribution can be maintained to a higher accuracy society with smart devices that potentially interact with the
concurrently hotspots can be controlled under a temperature environment.
difference of 2°C. Narayanan et al. [177] developed a thin
In this new race to the next generation, most of our de-
film based evaporating cooling to target hotspots which are
vices will be wearable, flexible, biocompatible and definitely
implemented by impinging dry air over the capillary assisted
transparent. Currently, we are in basic research of exploiting
porous membrane with a thickness of 15µm. Here they have
the limits, understanding the Multiphysics, marking per-
demonstrated for higher heat flux range more than
formance parameters and setting the standards for manufac-
600W/cm2where heat transfer coefficient reached up to turing and design. It is worth stating the work of Sitaraman
0.1MW/m2k. et al. [185] who is involved in developing modelling and
Green et al. [178] developed a hybrid integrated heat sink experimenting with the accelerated test setups for flexible
for managing hotspots on electronic chips. The result pre- electronics and wearable devices field. Hence, future device
sented that the system effectively dissipated hotspot range of predominately flexible and profoundly fabricated by additive
400W/cm2 with a marginal increase in pumping power. Fur- manufacturing it better period to initialize work on polymer -
thermore, they have established that their proposed methods based microchannels with enhanced thermal conductivity
can extract hotspot near 1kW/cm 2. Experimental investiga- using nano-additives. It will be resourceful to have a track on
tions on parallel microchannel accompanied with heat works of Heike Glade et al. [186] for the insights of
spreader for MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Devices) polymer-based heat exchangers.
cooling was performed by Maganti et al. [179]. Their studies Over the past decades, bioimplants have been evolved to
investigated different flow configurations with the use of new heights, where sophisticated tailored devices exhibit
high thermal conductive nanofluid. They employed graphene potential solution for several artificial organs. As a
nanofluid to decrease the hotspots in the parallel microchan - consequence, these devices are developed in such a way that
nel. They observed that the nanofluid provides more uniform it is multifunctional by involving itself in a biomedical ap-
cooling than the pure fluids. Numerical investigation of elec - plication with self-conditional health monitoring of the de-
tronic components with micro pin fins subjected to hotspot vice as well as the human body. This opened up new op-
was reported by Reddy and Dulikravich [180]. They per- portunities for numerous biodevices which turned out to
formed multi optimization to determine the optimal working be potentially lifesaving. This requires high end device
condition by minimizing hotspot temperature and pumping which is integrated with compatibility materials for localized
power. Further, they extended by reporting the structural cooling systems. These devices are applied in treatment of
stress experienced by the micro pin fins arrays due to hot Focal Brain Cooling [187] and Cryosurgery to destroy can -
spots. Zhang et al. [181] investigated transient cooling in an cer cells using microchannels. Hence, future research for
electronic chip with different types of microchannel heat microchannels are highly optimistic and it has the
sinks by both experimentally and numerically. According to potential to touch our lives through many devices in com-
them straight channels has comparatively higher response ing years. It is clear that there will be operational hardship
timing than U-shaped and serpentine type channels. Addi- which has to overcome but results will be convincing.
tionally, they reported that for increased flow rate reduction
in response timing was noticed. Kinkelin et al. [182] per- CONCLUSION
formed experimental and numerical studies on peak tempera -
Multiple interesting microchannel configurations have
ture loading under transient chip cooling application by us - been proposed in last decades to fulfill the demands on cool-
ing hybrid heat spreader with combined CNT (Carbon Nano ing of the latest electronic devices. This article extends an
Tubes) and PCM (Phase Change Material). The polymer- insight of latest evolution of microchannel studies, account-
based microchannel is implemented in multicore processors ing from the initial work on microchannel cross section, use
with direct contact under the minimal area of cooling which of constructional structures in channels, nature-inspired bi-
is highly effective for compact electronic components [183]. furcations, compact microchannels for high-density cooling,
Furthermore, packaging with stacking multiple devices with enhancement study by using nanofluids, potential of two-
insulating surfaces was developed for 3D multicore proces - phase flow in microchannels, Porous microchannels and so
sors [184]. on. Besides lots of novel channels bifurcation numerical
studies were reported with best results, only very few have
6. EMERGING SCOPE FOR MICROSCALE COOL- reported experimental results which appeals the practical
ING TECHNOLOGY difficulty and experimental sophistication. For additional
Due to the robust design of the present compact devices, trend on bifurcation, design structures performed one may
nowadays, there is more interaction between the hardware refer passive techniques for heat transfer augmentation in
devices and surroundings which was beyond reality decades microchannel heat sink reported by Sidik et al. [188], Ghani
ago. Creditability for this reach in advancement is a com- et al. [189] and Ghani et al. [190].
22 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2018, Vol. 11, No. 3 Narendran et al.

Even though microchannels in above-mentioned areas ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

exhibited optimistic potential over heat transfer enhancement
Authors acknowledge the computing resources utilized in
and compactness, few critical drawbacks still prevail which
the Department of Mechanical Engineering at NIT Karna-
must be solved to develop a better perspective for micro -
taka, Surathkal.
channel study in future. With the existing microchannel, sev-
eral works were reported for its capability to reach the heat
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