Abstract

Effect of the reservoir elevation, fin shape and height on the cooling performance of a heat sink equipped with a liquid thermosyphon system, for a thermoelectric generator (TEG) application is studied using numerical simulations. Three pin fin types, namely circular, circular sector and triangular shapes, with a staggered arrangement, are employed for the heat sink and performance of each type for a wide range of fin heights and two hydraulic diameters is demonstrated. It is found that the highest cooling performance is achieved, when the reservoir is placed at the same level as the heat sink. Hence, a more compact TEG-thermosyphon assembly, which requires less space, with better cooling efficiency, compared with traditional designs with the reservoir placed on top of the heat sink, is achieved. Simulations show that the heat sink with circular-sector fins has a better thermal efficiency at a wide range of fin heights, compared with the two other fin shapes, for the current application. It was also found that, with a suitable hydraulic diameter, circular-sector fins can provide reasonably low pressure drop for a wide range of fin heights.

中文翻译：

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评估翅片形状和高度以及水库标高对 TEG 冷却系统性能的影响

摘要

通过数值模拟研究了用于热电发电机 (TEG) 应用的蓄水池高度、翅片形状和高度对配备液体热虹吸系统的散热器冷却性能的影响。散热器采用三种针翅片类型，即交错排列的圆形、扇形和三角形，并展示了每种类型在各种翅片高度和两种水力直径下的性能。结果发现，当储液器与散热器放置在同一水平时，可以获得最高的冷却性能。因此，与储液器放置在散热器顶部的传统设计相比，实现了更紧凑的 TEG 热虹吸组件，需要更少的空间，具有更好的冷却效率。仿真表明，对于当前的应用，与其他两种翅片形状相比，具有圆形扇形翅片的散热器在各种翅片高度下具有更好的热效率。研究还发现，在合适的水力直径下，圆形扇形翅片可以为各种翅片高度提供相当低的压降。