Thermal Optimization of Plate-Fin Heat Sinks With Variable Fin Thickness

In the present paper, we conducted thermal optimization of plate-fin heat sink with fin thickness varying in the vertical direction. The model based on volume averaging theory (VAT) was used for this optimization. It is shown that the thermal resistance of plate-fin heat sink is reduced by allowing the fin thickness to increase in the vertical direction. In the case of water-cooled heat sink, the thermal resistance decreases up to about 20%. The amount of the reduction increases as either pumping power increases or the length of heat sink decreases.