Assignment on fins

MCL142, 2015-2016
April 5, 2016

Problem 1
Background
This problem may serve as a hint to problem 2 and requires only Newtons law of
cooling and the idea of thermal resistance as specialized knowledge. However,
you may find it possible to solve problem 2 without doing problem 1. Read
section 3.6.5 of Incropera if you get stuck in your attempts to solve problem 1
based on the problem statement alone.

Problem statement
A finned surface presents a total surface area At to a flowing fluid and transfers
heat to the fluid with a convection coefficient h. The surface has an array of N
fins, each of surface area Af and efficiency f .
Problem 1A
Express the convective resistance of each fin and the convective resistance of the
unfinned exposed area At N Af in terms of quantities prescribed above. Show
a thermal circuit that will help you calculate the heat transfer rate through the
entire surface. Calculate the equivalent thermal resistance of this surface.
Problem 1B
The overall finned efficiency of a surface o can be defined to be the ratio of the
ideal surface resistance 1/(hAt ) to the equivalent (overall) resistance calculated
above. Show that 0 = 1 N Af /At (1 f ).

Problem 2
An isothermal silicon chip (as shown
on the figure) of width W = 20 mm
on a side is soldered to an aluminum
heat sink (k = 180W/m K) of equivalent width. The heat sink has a
base thickness of Lb = 3 mm and
an array of rectangular fins, each of
length Lf = 15mm. Air flow at
T = 20 C is maintained through
channels formed by the fins and a
cover plate, and for a convection coefficient of h = 100W/m2 K, a minimum fin spacing of S t = 1.8mm
is dictated by limitations on the flow
pressure drop. Consider the case of
N = 11 fins corresponding to S t =
Figure 1: Figure for problem
1.8 mm. If the maximum chip allowable chip temperature is Tc = 85 C,
calculate the maximum power qc dissipated by the chip.
Answer: 31.8 W