Experimental Study on Cooling of Electronics Components

by Spray Impaction
P Khatak, Non-member
M Kumar, Non-member
In the present work, an experimental set-up has been designed and fabricated for conducting various
experiments with a water spraying nozzle, impinging normal to the flat end surface of a heated surface
(copper cylinder of 20 mm diameter). From temperature gradient measurements under steady state condition,
the heat flux and surface temperature have been calculated. The water flow rate has been varied from 15 ml/min
to 35 ml/min and heater power from 185 W to 300 W. Water spray temperature has been maintained at 20°C.
Heat fluxes up to 90 W/cm2 have been attained in the experiment at a surface temperature of 104°C for a
water flow rate of 35 ml/min. Increases in heat flux from the heated surface with the increase in liquid flow rate
have been observed. For 15 ml/min flow rate, almost 100% water was converted into vapour.

Keywords : Spray cooling; Heat flux; Component cooling; Evaporation

NOTATION Conventional air-cooled designs are not adequate to remove

2 the large heat fluxes, hence have to be replaced or
A : area, cm supplemented by other high performance compact cooling
k : thermal conductivity, W/cm-K techniques. Spray cooling has been studied for several
decades, mainly in high temperature regions. Their typical
l : target length, mm applications were in continuous casting processes and the
emergency core cooling of nuclear reactors. The use of
2
: heat flux, W/cm impacting sprays for thermal control at relatively low surface
temperature, where nucleate boiling and thin film heat transfer
occurs has recently begun. Limited work has been done for
: temperature gradient, °C/cm
the non-boiling sprays impacting on a surface.
r : radius, mm Prominent studies included the development of various jet
T : temperature, °C cooling techniques, phenomenon of spray dynamics,
modeling, CFD simulations, effect of various parameters such
T∝ : ambient temperature, °C as, variable liquid mass flux, droplet velocity, spray deposition,
low excess temperature, heating surface characteristics and
w : uncertainty in heat flux many others on heat transfer rate. Consequently a number
q

w : uncertainty in temperature measurement of researches1-6 on cooling of electronics component has

∆T
w : uncertainty in distance measurement
∆x
INTRODUCTION
In today’s world many electronic components generate heat
and so need to be cooled. Higher transistor integration
densities, faster electronic chips and drastic increase in
performance have led to increase in the chip level heat fluxes
from 5W/cm2 –10 W/cm2 and have the potential to reach in
the range of 50 W/cm2–100 W/cm2. The performance and
reliability of semiconductors and integrated circuit devices
are constrained by temperature, typically for every 10°C rise
of the junction temperature the failure rate doubles. Thus
heat to be removed must travel from the microelectronic chip
to the surrounding air stream.
P Khatak resides at House No 21, Sector 16, Hisar 125 001 and M
Kumar resides at A/127, Phase IV, Premnagar, Najafgarh, New
Delhi 110 043.
This paper (modified) was received on July 24, 2007. Written discussion
on the paper will be entertained till December 31, 2008.
already been performed. A majority of the studies on spray
cooling are in the boiling region. Compared to the high surface
temperature regime, there is very less work related to non-
boiling sprays on hot surface has been performed. The most
important factor affecting heat transfer is liquid flow rate.
The experimental work on spray cooling is restricted in
general applicability since spray generation is with selected
nozzles7.
The aim of the present experimental work was to investigate
water sprays when the temperature of the heated surface
was limited to 120°C. The objective was to get a very high
heat transfer rate by the evaporation from the thin film without
boiling in the range of 100 W/cm2 at low surface temperature
(below 120°C).
DESIGN AND FABRICATION DETAILS
An experimental apparatus to study the phenomenon of spray
cooling has been fabricated. A photograph of the set-up is
shown in Figure 1 and close up of the target surface is shown
in Figure 2. The concept of heat flux measurement employed

Volume 89, October 2008 11

 Table 1 Uncertainty analysis for target length

Length, mm Uncertainty in heat flux, %

50 0.16

100 0.081

150 0.054

that that chip level heat fluxes have the potential to reach
50 W/cm2–100 W/cm2 and surface temperature of the chip
should not exceed 120°C. For 100 W/cm2 the temperature
gradient in the upper portion of the copper block for thermal
conductivity of copper as 396 W/m-K would be from
equation (1),
Figure 1 Experimental apparatus

(3)

Cooling
surface
(4)

The target length could be fixed from uncertainty

considerations from equation (2). Table 1 shows uncertainty
in heat flux measurement for different lengths.
The length of 50 mm was too small for temperature gradient
measurement and 150 mm would result in large heat loss
from radial surface. Hence, 100 mm was taken as length of
target. The temperature variation along the axial direction
for temperature gradient 25.25oC/cm was, T =25.25z + 120,
Figure 2 Heat transfer surface where T is temperature at a distance z cm from the top
here involved measurement of the temperature gradient in surface as shown in Figure 3. The heat flow was made almost
one-dimensional steady state conduction. Under these one-dimensional by restricting the heat flow only in the axial
assumptions, Fourier law yields direction by insulating the side. However, there would be a
small temperature gradient in the radial direction also, and
this heat transfer rate was estimated by considering a
(1) infinitesimal component for which total heat loss from the
block for a length of l mm is given by

Where was the heat flux, W/cm2 through the surface of

thermal conductivity k, W/cm K having as the

(5)
temperature gradient in °C/cm.

The detailed design of the set-up was based on Fourier law Table 2 Heat loss from heat transfer target
for which uncertainty analysis became
Copper Heater Heat dissipation, W (% heat loss)
block p o w e r, Diameters of insulation, mm
diameter, W
(2) mm
200 240 280 320

10 78.53 2.55 (3.20) 2.4 (3.05) 2.29 (2.91) 2.2 (2.80)

where wq is the uncertainty in heat flux, and because of 20 314.15 3.32 (1.05) 3.07 (0.97) 2.89(0.91) 2.75 (0.87)
w∆x, uncertainty in ∆x spacing and w∆T, uncertainty in
30 706.85 4.03 (0.57) 3.67 (0.51) 3.42 (0.48) 3.23 (0.45)
temperature difference measurement. Parameters selected on
this basis were length and diameter of the heat transfer target 40 1256.63 4.75 (0.37) 4.26 (0.33) 3.93 (0.31) 3.07 (0.24)
of copper, insulation dimensions and spacing in the
50 1963.49 5.52 (0.26) 4.87 (0.24) 4.44 (0.22) 4.12 (0.20)
thermocouples. From the earlier researches, it was found

12 IE(I) Journal–MC

(6)
Heat loss from upper portion of copper block of length 100
mm and for different diameters were shown in Table 2.
From Table 2, it could be inferred that for 10 mm diameter of
target, the percentage heat loss was maximum at 2.80% to
3.20 %. Hence one dimensional heat transfer was not
possible. Large diameters required heater power in excess
of 1 kW. Hence 20 mm diameter of the target and 280 mm
diameter of insulation were most suitable; here heat loss
See Detail
Detail C
All dimensions are in mm
Figure 3 View of heat transfer target
Volume 89, October 2008
through insulation was 0.91%. The minimum length of heaters
available commercially was 160 mm and the diameter was
16 mm. For the required heat input, four 250 W cartridge
heaters were connected through a 270 V ac variac. Four
heaters were used for obtaining radially uniform heat flux
through the block. The bottom portion of copper block was
designed according to the availability of length of cartridge
heaters. So for ease of drilling in the copper block, the lower
portion was taken of diameter 60 mm and length 170 mm.
The gradual temperature change from the heater area to the
target area was done by providing a taper in the middle portion
of the copper block. For a slope of 60° middle portion length
was 30 mm. The detailed dimensions of the target are shown
in Figure 3. The copper block was mounted on an adjustable
stand. The temperature indicator used in the experiment
See Detail A
Detail A
See Detail B
Detail B
Section B-B
13
Table 3 Uncertainty analysis for heat flux measurement for
different spacing
Nozzle
See detail C
Spacing, mm Uncertainty in heat flux, % Rotameter

5 0.88

10 0.87

15 0.80
had the uncertainty of ± 0.2°C. The spacing in the
thermocouples was designed from the uncertainty analysis
from equation (2). Table 3 shows the uncertainty in heat flux
measurement for different spacing.
The uncertainty was least for 15 mm spacing, but there would
be non-uniformity in temperature measurements across the
target. Therefore, a thermocouple distance of 10 mm was
most suitable. Four thermocouples were placed 10 mm apart,
where first being 3 mm from the top surface of the copper
block. Glass wool insulation to the copper block was applied
to make the heat flow one-dimensional. The glass wool was
enclosed in a 18 gage thick galvanized iron sheet cylinder
around the copper block brazed at its edge as shown in
Figure 4. The top of the cylinder was closed by brazing it
with a GI sheet cover. A hole of 20 mm was made at the
centre of the top surface. This was brazed to make it water
leak proof. It was given a slope of 4° radially outwards so
that water could flow to the outer periphery of the surface.
The copper block placed on the stand was inserted through
this hole. The gap between the block and the cylinder was
filled up with a commercial sealant. The bottom surface was
closed with screws after filling the glass wool.
An arrangement for collection of water was made around
the insulation box. A water gallery of sheet metal of outer
diameter 355 mm and height 25 mm was welded with the
box. A four mm hole was drilled at the lowest point of the
gallery. A 30 mm long mild steel tube was welded in this
hole to attach a polythene tube. Water to the heated surface
φ 280
4°
A φ 355
φ 20 A
Control
valve
Detail C
Water
pump
All dimensions are in mm
Water flow
Figure 5 Schematic view of experimental set-up
was provided through a water pump of 500 W capacity having
a bypass arrangement. Two control valves were used to
maintain the required rate of water. One valve was used to
regulate the quantity of water through the nozzle. Water
flow rate had been measured by a rotameter of the range of
10ml/min – 200 ml/min. Water was sprayed from the nozzle
normal to the heated surface. The extra water after evaporation
was drained back into the storage tank through a polythene
tube. Water was made to flow back in the water tank by the
second control valve. Water from the tank had been
circulated again by using a pump. The complete water flow
arrangement sketch is shown in Figure 5.
A simple nozzle was used in this experiment. It was made
from the 5 mm diameter copper tubes. Two copper tubes of
40 mm and 30 mm length were used, vertical tube of 40 mm
was brazed with 30 mm horizontal tube at the centre after
drilling hole at the centre. A hole of 1 mm diameter was
drilled at the centre of horizontal tube. The complete sketch
of T-shaped nozzle was shown in the Figure 5. The nozzle
was adjusted such that the centre of nozzle was at the top
of midpoint of the heated surface. The nozzle gap from the
heated surface was 10 mm. This spacing was maintained
to ensure that water droplets just covered the top surface.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Table 4 gives the test matrix showing the operating

conditions for the experiments. The experiments were
See details Detail B performed for five water flow rates and three heater powers.
Table 4 Operating conditions for the test

Heater power, W
Bill of materials
298.3 235.7 188.5
Sl no Part
1 Stand (mild steel) Flow rate, ml/min
2 Copper block 15 1A 1B 1C
3 G L box 18 gage 20 2A 2B 2C
4 Glass wool
25 3A 3B 3C
All dimensions are in mm
30 4A 4B 4C
35 5A 5B 5C
Figure 4 Insulation box

14 IE(I) Journal–MC
Table 5 Average temperature gradients for various flow rates

Test no Temperatures, °C Temperature gradient, °C/cm Average temperature

gradient, °C/cm
T1 T2 T3 T4 T1-T2 T2-T3 T4-T3
1A 121.0 143.1 165.4 187.8 22.1 22.3 22.4 22.3
2A 116.7 138.9 161.1 183.3 22.2 22.2 22.2 22.2
3A 113.6 135.8 158.0 180.2 22.2 22.2 22.2 22.2
4A 111.7 134 156.4 178.6 22.3 22.4 22.2 22.3
5A 110.9 133.6 156.3 178.9 22.7 22.7 22.6 22.7
1B 100.3 118.1 136.0 153.8 17.8 17.9 17.8 17.8
2B 95.7 113.4 131.2 148.7 17.7 17.8 17.5 17.7
3B 92.4 110.4 128.1 146.0 18.0 17.7 17.9 17.9
4B 90.3 107.9 125.6 143.2 17.6 17.7 17.6 17.6
5B 89.5 107.5 125.4 143.5 18.0 17.9 18.1 18.0
1C 80.2 93.3 106.2 119.6 13.1 12.9 13.4 13.1
2C 75.5 88.3 101.5 114.5 12.8 13.2 13.0 13.0
3C 72.1 85.1 98.1 111.4 13.0 13 13.3 13.1
4C 69.6 82.6 95.7 108.7 13.0 13.1 13.0 13.0
5C 67.5 80.8 94.1 107.3 13.3 13.3 13.2 13.3

The water flow rate was varied from 15 ml/min – 35 ml/min Table 6 Heat transfer for different surface temperatures
and heater power from 185 W to 300 W. The spray water Test no Surface temperature, °C Heat transfer, W/cm2
temperature was almost constant at 20 °C. The temperatures
1A 113.8 88.3
in the test section were measured at four locations (Figure 3)
with the thermocouples. Temperature T1 was from the top 2A 110.0 87.9
most thermocouple, ie, closest to the surface, 3 mm from 3A 106.9 87.9
the top surface. T2, T3 and T4 were further down in the 4A 105.0 88.3
sequence 10 mm apart. Temperature readings were taken
5A 104.1 89.9
at 10 min time interval. The steady state was assumed to
be reached when three consecutive readings for each of the 1B 95.0 70.5
thermocouple were almost constant. The temperature 2B 90.4 70.1
gradient was then calculated by subtracting the successive
3B 87.0 70.9
temperature reading from previous one. Table 5 lists the
temperature gradients for 15 test cases. 4B 85.0 69.7
5B 84.1 71.3
Table 6 shows the heat flux from the surface for different
1C 76.3 51.9
conditions. For each one, the average of three temperature
gradients (Table 5) had been used for this calculation on the 2C 71.6 51.5
basis of equation (1). The surface temperature was calculated 3C 68.2 51.9
by extrapolating with the lower temperature readings. 4C 65.7 51.5
Uncertainty analysis showed that uncertainty in each
5C 63.5 52.7
temperature gradient was comparable and the uncertainty
could be reduced by averaging the thermocouple readings. Data for heat flux as a function of surface temperature is
plotted in Figure 6. It was observed that with increase in
100 surface temperature, the heat transfer rate also increased.
90 At the surface temperature of 104 °C, heat flux of 90 W/cm2
Heat flux ( q
" ), W/cm2

80 at water flow rate of 35 ml/min was accommodated. It could

70
also be observed from Figure 6 that, a higher liquid flow rate
15 ml/min
results in higher heat transfer rates. It showed the increase
60
15
20 ml/min
ml/min in heat transfer with increasing flow rates in all the three
50 20
25 ml/min
ml/min
25
30 ml/min
ml/min
regions, namely, film boiling region, the transition-boiling
40 30
35 ml/min
ml/min region and the nucleate boiling region. Figure 6 shows that
35 ml/min
30 for water flow rate of 15 ml/min, wall temperature increased
50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 rapidly with the heat flux. This rapid increase in surface
Surface temperature, °C temperature could be due to drying out of film, resulting from
Figure 6 Effect of water flow rate on heat flux evaporation.

Volume 89, October 2008 15

CONCLUSIONS
Based on results and discussions, the following conclusions
have been drawn.
♦ Heat fluxes as high as 90 W/cm2 has been obtained
without visible boiling on the heated surface for the highest
water flow rate at the surface temperature of 104°C.
♦ A higher liquid flow rate results in higher heat transfer
rate. This was due to the increased impact heat transfer
and forced convection.
♦ At a liquid flow rate of 15 ml/min, almost all of the
impinging liquid has been observed to be converted into
vapor at a surface temperature of about 114°C.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors wish to express our deep sense of gratitude to
Prof S R Kale, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi for
providing his valuable guidance and constant encouragement
for completing this work.
16
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IE(I) Journal–MC