Bryan Patrick Whalen

Investigation and application of an advanced dual piezoelectric cooling jet to a typical electronics cooling configuration

In recent years, electronics have significantly reduced in size at maintained or increased functionality. This trend has led to an increased demand for more capable thermal management solutions at smaller scales. However, miniaturization of conventional fan and heat sink cooling systems introduces significant size, weight and efficiency challenges. In this study the flow performance of a novel thin form-factor cooling solution, the advanced dual piezoelectric cooling jet (DCJ), is evaluated. A DCJ is a micro-fluidic device that disturbs the boundary layer over a hot component and hence increases heat transfer. The design of an equivalent fan-curve experiment is described in detail. A first ever fan curve for a bimorph DCJ device is presented. This is coupled to a thermal performance analysis using an experiment simulating thin profile consumer electronics.

Experimental Flow Performance Evaluation of novel miniaturized Advanced Piezoelectric Dual Cooling Jet

In recent years, electronics systems have significantly reduced in size at maintained or increased functionality. This trend has led to an increased demand for smaller and more capable thermal management. However, miniaturization of conventional fan and heat sink cooling systems introduce significant size, weight and efficiency challenges. In this study the flow performance of a novel alternative thin form-factor cooling solution, the advanced piezoelectric dual cooling jet(DCJ), is evaluated. A DCJ is a system where two piezoelectric actuators are excited to produce air flow. The total height of the device is about 1mm. The design of the experimental method for evaluating the equivalent fan-curve of the DCJ device is described in detail. Experimental results in comparison to conventional fan solutions are provided. The DCJ is expected to be a good candidate for thermal management in next generation thin profile consumer electronics.

Development and Experimental Validation of a Micro/Nano Thermal Ground Plane

Heat pipes are commonly used in electronics cooling applications to spread heat from a concentrated heat source to a larger heat sink. Heat pipes work on the principles of two-phase heat transfer by evaporation and condensation of a working fluid. The amount of heat that can be transported is limited by the capillary and hydrostatic forces in the wicking structure of the device. Thermal ground planes are two-dimensional high conductivity heat pipes that can serve as thermal ground to which heat can be rejected by a multitude of heat sources. As hydrostatic forces are dependent on gravity, it is commonly known that heat pipe and thermal ground plane performance is orientation dependent. The effect of variation of gravity force on performance is discussed and the development of a miniaturized thermal ground plane for high g operation is described. In addition, experimental results are presented from zero to −10g acceleration. The study shows and discusses that minimal orientation or g-force dependence can be achieved if pore dimensions in the wicking structure can be designed at micro/nano-scale dimensions.Copyright