Are you really using the pin fin heat sink correctly?

Needle fin heat exchangers are a good idea, but they are not万能的, and their usage conditions are also limited. Heat exchangers for thermal simulation are essential components, and their performance should be well understood, especially for plate-type heat exchangers. We all know that the heat dissipation performance of plate heat exchangers is related to the height, thickness, spacing of the fins, and the thickness of the base plate. However, as the thickness of the fins increases, the spacing decreases, and the thickness of the base plate increases, the performance of the heat exchanger initially improves rapidly, then increases slowly, and eventually decreases. Therefore, reasonably controlling the thickness of the fins, spacing, and base plate thickness is key to designing heat exchangers; it is not a one-size-fits-all optimization but should be adjusted based on actual products. Based on the above understanding of plate-type heat exchangers, some believe that needle fin heat exchangers have inherent advantages. Because in the heat exchange equation Q=hA(T1-T2), the larger the area of the heat exchanger, the stronger its heat dissipation capacity. The design idea of needle fin heat exchangers is to create as much heat exchange area as possible within a given volume and to adapt to different airflow directions. The question is, is having as much heat exchange area really effective? For needle fin heat exchangers, only the surface area aligned with the airflow can contact moving air, while the surface area perpendicular to the airflow can only contact stagnant air or rotating airflow; this part of the surface area cannot carry away much heat. Therefore, under the same spacing of finned heat exchangers, simply breaking up plate fins will not increase heat dissipation; in fact, it may worsen thermal performance. If this approach does not work, then can we find a way to increase fin density to increase the effective surface area of the heat exchanger? Indeed, due to manufacturing limitations, plate fin heat exchangers cannot have too dense a pitch. While needle fin heat exchangers can increase fin density, one should not overlook parameter h. After increasing density, air flowing between two fins will interfere with each other and collide, squeezing into a narrow flow between two fins and creating turbulence. In this case, the heat transfer coefficient h will be discounted, and thermal performance may not necessarily improve.

Needle-shapedFin heat sinkIt's a good idea, but it's not universal, and there are limitations on usage conditions.

Making a heat sink for thermal simulation is an essential component, and its performance should also be understood, especially for plate-type heat sinks. We all know that the heat dissipation performance of plate heat sinks is related to the height, thickness, spacing of the fins, and the thickness of the base plate. However, as the thickness of the fins increases, the spacing decreases, and the thickness of the base plate increases, the performance of the heat sink first increases rapidly, then slowly increases, and finally gradually decreases.

Therefore, reasonably controlling the thickness of the fins, spacing, and base plate thickness is key to designing a heat sink; it is not a one-size-fits-all optimization combination and should be adjusted based on actual products.

Based on the above understanding of plate-type heat sinks, some believe that needle-shaped fin heat sinks have inherent advantages. Because in the heat exchange equation Q=hA(T1-T2), the larger the area of the heat sink, the stronger its heat dissipation capacity.

The design idea of needle-shaped fin heat sinks is to create as much heat exchange area as possible within a given volume and to adapt to different airflow directions.

The question is, is having as much heat exchange area really effective?

For needle-shaped fin heat sinks, only the surface area aligned with the airflow can come into contact with moving air, while the surface area perpendicular to the airflow can only contact stagnant air or rotating airflow; this part of the surface area cannot carry away much heat.

Therefore, under the same spacing of fin heat sinks, simply breaking up the fins will not increase heat dissipation, but may actually worsen thermal performance.

If this doesn't work, then consider increasing the density of the fins; will this increase the effective surface area of the heat sink?

Indeed, due to process limitations, the pitch of plate-type fin heat sinks cannot be made too dense. Making needle-shaped fin heat sinks can increase fin density, but do not overlook parameter h. After increasing density, air flowing between two fins will interfere with each other, collide with each other, and squeeze into narrow flows between two fins, creating turbulence. In this case, the heat transfer coefficient h will be discounted, and thermal performance may not necessarily improve.