Numerical analysis of heat transfer by natural convection from various shaped thin fin arrays placed on a horizontal plate

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF HEAT TRANSFER BY NATURALCONVECTION FROM VARIOUS SHAPED THIN FIN ARRAYSPLACED ON A HORIZONTAL PLATE(M.Sc. Thesis)Önder YILMAZGAZI UNIVERSITYINSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYJanuary 2006ABSTRACTNatural convection plays a significant role in cooling of electronic systems andmany other technological applications. It is required to determine the optimumgeometrical shape of the fins in order to increase the heat transfer from finarrays. In this study, the heat transfer by natural convection has numericallybeen investigated for various shapes of fins. While determining the geometry ofthese fins, the base and total fin areas have been kept constant.In this study, the heat transfer from fins has been analyzed numerically by usinga three-dimensional model at laminar steady flow conditions. To solve governingdifferential equations of the problem, the related boundary conditions havebeen introduced to a CFD program as data input. GAMBİT 2.0. has been usedin geometrical modelling of the problem, and the solution has been carried outusing FLUENT 6.0. package program.In this study, six different fin geometries have been utilized and the affectingthe problem parameters have been specified under the effect of naturalconvection. It has been found that the shape of the fin formed in accordancewith these parameters has resulted in favourable results. The analysis showsthat the fin shape formed by considering the effects of these parameters on theheat transfer gives favourable results. This means, in the case of naturalconvection heat transfer from thin fin arrays on a horizontal plate, therectangular fin geometry does not gives the optimum rate of heat transfer andan optimum shape for the fins can be determined.Science Code : 914.1.065Key Words : Natural convection, fins, CFDPage Number : 102Adviser : Prof. Dr. Mecit SİVRİOĞLU