Design and Thermal Characteristics of a Synthetic Jet Ejector Heat Sink

The design and thermal performance of a synthetic-air-jet-based heat sink for high-power dissipation electronics is discussed. Each fin of a plate-fin heat sink is straddled by a pair of two-dimensional synthetic jets, thereby creating a jet ejector system that entrains cool ambient air upstream of the heat sink and discharges it into the channels between the fins. The jets are created by periodic pressure variations induced in a plenum by electromagnetic actuators. The performance of the heat sink is assessed using a thermal test die encased in a heat spreader that is instrumented with a thermocouple. The case-to-ambient thermal resistance under natural convection with the heat sink is $3.15°C∕W$⁠. Forced convection with the synthetic jets enables a power dissipation of $59.2W$ at a case temperature of $70°C$⁠, resulting in a case-to-ambient thermal resistance of $0.76°C∕W$⁠. The synthetic-jet heat sink dissipates $∼40%$ more heat compared to steady flow from a ducted fan blowing air through the heat sink. The synthetic jets generate a flow rate of 4.48 CFM through the heat sink, resulting in 27.8 W/CFM and thermal effectiveness of 0.62. The effect of fin length on the thermal resistance of the heat sink is discussed. Detailed measurements on an instrumented heat sink estimate that the average heat transfer coefficients in the channel flow between the fins is 2.5 times that of a steady flow in the ducts at the same Reynolds Number.