Flow and thermal characteristics of synthetic jets for electronics cooling

Abstract

Extensive research has been carried out to meet the cooling demand of high heat flux electronic devices. Among the emerging cooling technologies, synthetic jet (SJ) cooling has proved to be an efficient and compact option. The present dissertation reports the flow and heat transfer characteristics of synthetic jet impingement through experimental and numerical investigations. The objective of the present study is to analyse the flow and thermal performance of synthetic jets for a varied range of geometrical and operating parameters as applicable for various cooling applications, including the thermal management of electronic components. A test facility has been developed which include various modules, such as SJ actuator assembly, test surface, power oscillator, DC power source, traversing mechanism, computer and instrumentation scheme for temperature and velocity measurements. The temperature distribution over the test surface is recorded by using a thermal imaging camera (FLIR A65sc). A constant temperature hot wire anemometer (Dantec Dynamics Mini CTA 54T42) is used to measure the flow velocity. In addition, particle image velocimetry is also employed to quantify the flow characteristics of sharp-edged and bell-mouth orifices synthetic jets.