On the Potential of Galinstan-Based Minichannel and Minigap Cooling

• Published in: IEEE transactions on components, packaging, and manufacturing technology (2011) Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 46 - 56
• Main Authors: Hodes, Marc, Rui Zhang, Lam, Lisa Steigerwalt, Wilcoxon, Ross, Lower, Nate
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.01.2014; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Cooling; Galinstan; Heat sinks; Heat transfer; Metals; microchannel heat sink; minichannel heat sink; Resistance heating; thermal management of electronics; Thermal resistance
• ISSN: 2156-3950; 2156-3985
• DOI: 10.1109/TCPMT.2013.2274699

Galinstan, a gallium, indium, and tin eutectic, may be exploited for enhanced cooling of microelectronics because of its favorable thermophysical properties. A careful evaluation of its cooling potential, however, has not been undertaken. Provided here is a first-order model to compute the total (i.e., caloric plus conjugate conduction and convection) thermal resistance of galinstan-based heat sinks. Geometrically optimized minichannel heat sinks with rectangular channels for surface area enhancement and minigap, i.e., single parallel-plate channel, heat sinks are considered. Direct liquid cooling of a microprocessor die is envisioned. Therefore, the flow channels within the heat sinks are 302- μm tall, the pressure drop prescribed across them is 214 kPa, and their streamwise length is varied from 5 to 20 mm. The calculations suggest that galinstan is a better coolant than water in such configurations, reducing thermal resistance by about 40%.