Design of Novel Cooling Systems Based on Metal Plates with Channels of Shapes Inspired by Nature Articles uri icon

publication date

  • April 2022

start page

  • 3350

end page

  • 3372

issue

  • 7

volume

  • 12

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2076-3417

abstract

  • The effect of the channel shape of aluminum plates on cooling capacity was evaluated by
    studying different configurations. Common shapes of the channel, such as square and fork shapes,
    were compared with novel configurations inspired by shapes found in nature, specifically the shape
    of the outline of flowers, inspired these new configurations, consisting of channels with crateriform,
    salverform, and cruciform shapes. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of the channel shape
    on the cooling capacity of the metal plate. To that end, all the configurations were analyzed from
    a geometrical point of view, determining the minimum distance of each point across the plate to
    the channel. A finite difference method was implemented to study both transient and steady state
    heat dissipation across the plates for each configuration. Even though the effect of the channel
    shape on the average temperature of the plate is slight, the maximum temperature, the size and
    location of hot spots, and the temperature homogeneity of the plate are strongly affected by the
    shape of the channel through which the cooling fluid is circulated. A reduction in the maximum
    temperature of the plate during transient cooling of around 2 C for the crateriform and salverform
    channels and approximately 4.5 C for the cruciform channel can be attained, compared to the
    standard configurations. The steady state heat dissipation analysis concluded that the crateriform
    and salverform configurations reduced the maximum variation in temperature of the common
    configurations by roughly 15%, whereas a reduction of approximately 28% could be reached by the
    cruciform configuration. Regarding the homogeneity of temperature across the plate, a reduction up
    to 34.5% of the index of uniform temperature can be attained using the novel configurations during
    the steady state refrigeration of the plate. The cruciform channel is the optimal configuration for
    both transient and steady state cooling processes, reducing the size and temperature of hot spots and
    improving the temperature homogeneity of the plate, a result already anticipated by the geometrical
    analysis. In fact, the main conclusions attained from the cooling study are in good agreement with
    the results of the geometrical analysis. Therefore, the geometrical analysis was found to be a simple
    and reliable method to design the shape of channels of a cooling system.

subjects

  • Mechanical Engineering

keywords

  • channel shape; cooling system; finite difference method; geometrical analysis; heat; transfer; metal plates; temperature distribution