Heat transfer intensification by EHD conduction pumping for electronic cooling applications

Liquid based cooling has become a new prospect in the thermal management of electronic devices. This work numerically investigates the potential of EHD conduction pumping to remove heat from a high density flux heat source, as commonly encountered in electronic cooling applications. A 2-D horizontal plate configuration with a heated patch releasing uniform heat flux has been considered. EHD conduction flow of dielectric fluid generated by the space charge developed due to the Onsager effect has been considered. The coupled set of governing equations are incorporated into the finite-volume framework of OpenFOAM®. The numerical implementation in OpenFOAM® is validated against experimental and numerical benchmark results. Present results exhibit good agreement with the benchmark solutions. Combined interaction of natural convective flow and EHD conduction pumping induced flow is studied. The effects of Rayleigh number and electric Reynolds number are investigated. The flow morphology of thermal convection is altered by the EHD conduction pumping flow. Flow strength is intensified and lead to heat transfer augmentation. Lower temperature distribution and higher mean Nusselt numbers are observed along the heated patch. The heat transfer intensification obtained by EHD conduction pumping is more prominent at lower Rayleigh numbers and higher electric Reynolds numbers. A maximum heat transfer enhancement of up to 31.2% is obtained for the configuration and parameters considered in this study.