Numerical investigation on characterization of flow and heat transfer in jet-cooled microchannels with embedded metal foam

• Published in: The International journal of heat and fluid flow Vol. 116; p. 109911
• Main Authors: Zang, Xinlei, Ye, Weinan, Chen, Ye, Nie, Zhengwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.12.2025
• Subjects: Comprehensive heat transfer performance; Copper foam; Impinging jet; Microchannel; Impinging jet; Copper foam; Microchannel; Comprehensive heat transfer performance
• ISSN: 0142-727X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2025.109911

•MIJ heat sink with side-outlets improves thermal performance and lowers pressure drop.•Optimal copper foam thickness and jet inlet size maximize heat transfer efficiency.•Copper foam integration improves temperature distribution and cooling efficiency. While miniaturized electronic products have brought convenience to daily life, the challenge of high-density heat dissipation has become increasingly critical. This paper presented a microchannel impinging jet (MIJ) heat sink model with side-outlets integrated with open-cell copper foams. The heat sink’s flow and transfer performance were analyzed using a computational fluid dynamics simulation. Three key factors—the properties of the copper foam, the jet inlet size, and the side-outlet size—were examined to improve the heat sink’s comprehensive heat transfer performance. The findings indicate that: (1) The MIJ heat sink with a side-outlet exhibited superior thermal performance and lower pressure drop. When the side-outlet size increased from 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm, the contribution of copper foam to the comprehensive heat transfer capacity of the heat sink increased. (2) For different jet inlet sizes, when the side-outlet was 0.5 mm, the copper foam thickness was 0.1 mm, and the porosity was 0.615, the comprehensive heat transfer performance of the MIJ heat sink was maximized. (3) By incorporating impinging jets, side-outlets, and microchannels, the uniformity of the temperature distribution near the bottom of the heat sink was significantly improved. The MIJ heat sink with side-outlets embedded with copper foam exhibited high cooling efficiency and favorable overall thermal performance.