Heat Sink Fins Design

Heat transfer design and engineering.

Heat sink fins design.

The heat is transferred from a higher temperature region electronic component to a lower temperature region fluid medium by conduction. H air film convective coefficient a exposed surface area of. The image below demonstrates both a fin right and a pin left type of heat sink. A reference link has been placed below the calculator for further reading.

In our experience it generally estimates the overall heat sink volume within 15 of a final design. Fins are used to increase heat transfer area and provide a cooling effect. A heat sink transfers the thermal energy generated by an electronic assembly or component into a cooling medium. Heat sinks are typically made of aluminum or copper and have fins or pins that work to increase the surface area of the component to expedite the heat transfer to the surrounding fluid.

Figure 1 shows a typical plate fin heat sink used to cool common electrical and electronic components such as leds used in lighting applications mosfet used in digital circuits and microprocessors. In computers heat sinks are used to cool cpus gpus and some chipsets and ram modules. There are six dimensions that would need to be determined to design an appropriate heat sink for your needs. Plate fin heat sink dimensions.

The heat sink size calculator is based on a well established equation for estimating heat sink volume during the early stages of heat sink design. However if h a p k is greater than 1 00 the fins will insulate and prevent heat flow. Cad model of a heat sink.