International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

Multi objective optimization of a micro-channel heat sink through

genetic algorithm
Alperen Yildizeli ⇑, Sertac Cadirci
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Gumussuyu, 34437 Istanbul, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, fluid flow and conjugate heat transfer in a micro-channel heat sink (MCHS) is simulated
Received 8 April 2019 with ANSYS-Fluent and optimized with multi objective genetic algorithm known as elitist Non-
Received in revised form 30 August 2019 Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) coded in MATLAB. Single phase, steady and fully devel-
Accepted 5 October 2019
oped liquid flow in the range of the inlet Reynolds number 500–1000 through a 3D micro-channel is
solved by the laminar flow solver. The coolant fluid is considered as deionized water with dynamic vis-
cosity depending on temperature. The geometric variables (channel width and height) of the micro-
Keywords:
channel related to the channel’s cross section and the inlet Reynolds number related to the flow rate
Micro-channel heat sink
Conjugate heat transfer
are selected as design variables for the optimization. Two normalized objective functions of the
Computational fluid dynamics Nusselt number and pumping power are chosen to assess the hydrodynamic and thermal performances
Multi objective optimization of the MCHS. The optimization is performed for 20 generations with a number of population of 30.
Genetic algorithm Optimal Pareto Front representing the trade-off between the objective functions is obtained, which pro-
vides useful results for the design of MCHS. The final generation of the optimization process reveals that
in most of the design variable sets, the design points are identified as uniform distribution for the inlet
Reynolds number within the limits and 0.29 mm for the micro-channel’s width. However, the micro-
channel’s height was suggested in the range of 0.50–0.67 mm in most optimum cases.
Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Owing to the advancements in electronics like transistors and
semiconductors, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) started
to be used in many areas of engineering and technology. Transistor
quantity and density (per unit area) on electronic components con-
tinued to increase within the past few decades according to
Moore’s Law [1]. As a consequence of this fact, heat generation
per unit area increased while integrated circuits became smaller
in volume and getting higher in component density. This trend
inevitably leads to heat dissipation problem in MEMS and elec-
tronic products. Performance and lifespan of these devices could
be affected by overheating if the generated heat cannot be
removed. In early 80’s Tuckerman and Pease [2] first introduced
the micro-channel heat sink in order to maintain effective cooling
in electronic devices. In their pioneer contribution to literature
they showed that, a heat generation of 790 W=cm2 could be
removed by measurements which were in agreement with theory.
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: yildizeli@itu.edu.tr (Y. Alperen), cadircis@itu.edu.tr (C. Sertac).
Hassan et al. [3] prepared a detailed review on the progress and
methodologies in the research field of MCHSs. They summarized
the effects of single and two-phase coolants, surface roughness,
boiling temperature and micro-channel shapes on the thermal per-
formances of the heat sinks. Mokrani et al. [4] investigated MCHSs
with rectangular cross sections experimentally and showed that
momentum and energy equations for large-scale channels are valid
for hydraulic diameters in the range of 1 mm and 100 lm. Qu and
Mudawar [5] carried out thermal measurements on MCHSs to
investigate the effects of forced convection on heat sink cooling.
MCHSs were subjected to heat fluxes of 100 and 200 W=cm2 from
the bottom of the substrate and the inlet Re of the coolant varied
between 139 and 1672 in the laminar flow region. They found an
convincing agreement between within numerical predictions and
measurements in terms of pressure difference and temperature
distributions. Elshafei et al. [6] investigated different micro-
channel geometries and configurations of parallel plates. They
found that corrugated micro-channels show a better performance
in heat transfer but a higher pressure difference compared to par-
allel plates. Xia et al. [7] worked on corrugated MCHSs both exper-
imentally and numerically and found consistent results with
Elshafei et al. [6]. They also improved heat transfer and reduced

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2019.118847
0017-9310/Ó 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

Nomenclature

DP pressure difference of channel (Pa) v y-velocity (m/s)

Nu average Nusselt number W width of MCHS (m)
Ac cross sectional area of MCHS (m2) w z-velocity (m/s)
cp specific heat (J/(kg K)) W total width of computational domain
Dh hydraulic diameter (m) Wc width of micro-channel (m)
f1 first objective function Ww width of sidewall (m)
f2 second objective function
H height of MCHS (m) Abbreviations
h convective heat transfer coefficient (W/(m2 K)) 3
D Three Dimensional
Hb height of heatsink substrate (m) AR Aspect Ratio
Hc height of micro-channel (m) CFD Computational Fluid Dynamics
k thermal conductivity (W/(mK)) GA Genetic Algortihm
L length of MCHS (m) LHS Latin Hypercube Sampling
Ntotal number of elements MCHS Micro-Channel Heat Sink
Nx number of elements in X direction NSGA
II Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm
Ny number of elements in Y direction
Nz number of elements in Z direction Greek Symbols
Npop number of population
l dynamic viscosity (kg/(ms))
Nu Nusselt number q density (kg/(m3))
p pressure (Pa)
PP pumping power
Q volumetric flow rate (m3/s) Subscripts
q heat flux (W/(m2)) f fluid
R2 coefficient of determination pop population
ref reference
Re Reynolds number
T temperature (K) reg regression
u x-velocity (m/s) w wall
V average inlet velocity (m/s)

pumping power. Kawano et al. [8] performed both numerical sim-
ulations and measurements on MCHSs and found convincing
agreement between numerical and experimental results. They
developed a promising device which was able to cool down a sili-
con chip with high heat generation density. Rahman [9] examined
two different micro-channel types with three different configura-
tions for each. He found that local Nusselt number was always
higher at the entrance region independent on channel geometry
and higher Nusselt numbers were achieved at larger micro-
channels because of the effects of surface roughness on the bound-
ary layer. Peng and Petersen [10] showed, that the geometry and
hydraulic diameter of micro-channel were important factors on
heat and fluid flow characteristics for a single-phase convective
heat transfer in micro-channels. They suggested empirical correla-
tions for calculating the heat transfer and pressure difference.
Naphon and Khonseur [11] studied micro-scale heat transfer and
pressure difference under constant heat fluxes and investigated
the effects of inlet Reynolds number, aspect ratio of the channel
and surface roughness. They showed that roughness irregularities
on micro-channel walls play a significant role on heat transfer
enhancement and pressure differences. Chai et al. [12] investigated
the effect of periodically changing cross section on thermal perfor-
mance in MCHSs and found that Nusselt number could be
increased by 1.8 times compared to parallel plates.
Although experimental studies should be conducted to obtain
robust knowledge about flow and thermal behavior of MCHSs,
CFD simulations provide a wide perspective in the initial stage of
micro-channel design and offer sufficient information about the
effects of different parameters and configurations. The CFD studies
of MCHS cover a wide range of investigations related to channel
designs, hydraulic diameters, type of fluids, surface roughness
and hydraulic and thermal boundary conditions. Narendran et al.
[13] prepared a detailed review paper clarifying recent experimen-
tal and numerical studies about different MCHS configurations and
the effects of coolant types. Wang et al. [14] numerically investi-
gated the influence of rectangular, trapezoidal and triangular
micro-channels with equivalent cross-sectional area on thermal
resistance and found that the rectangular cross section was better
than other configurations. They also stated that water’s viscosity
has to be taken as a function of temperature for successful mod-
elling. On the contrary, Chen et al. [15] investigated the same three
cross-sections but came up with different results. They stated that
triangular MCHSs had the highest thermal efficiency among three
shapes. Toh et al. [16] numerically investigated steady-state lami-
nar flow through MCHS’s and stated, that the changes in the
dynamic viscosity considerably affected friction losses especially
at low inlet Reynolds numbers. Leela Vinodhan and Rajan [17]
numerically examined four different inlet-outlet configurations
and compared them with a conventional MCHS configuration. They
found that proposed designs had lower thermal resistance than the
conventional configuration at equal pumping power. Haller et al.
[18] worked on different L-bent and T-joint configurations for
MCHS with inlet Reynolds numbers between 10 and 3000 numer-
ically. They stated that splitting the flow with branches and bends
increased heat transfer due to vortices in flow and pointed out the
drawback of high pressure difference in the design enhancements.
Sui et al. [19] numerically investigated the effects of three different
wavy patterns of rectangular MCHS on the flow patterns and
showed that ‘‘Dean vortices” occured in periodic and repetitive
wavy rectangular MCHSs. They mentioned that Dean vortices
increased the thermal performance but were also responsible for
a drawback of pressure difference. Yu et al. [20] focused on two dif-
ferent fractal patterns with several aspect ratios and inlet Reynolds
numbers between 150 and 2000. They found that MCHSs with frac-
tal structure have higher thermal performance than the straight
MCHS configurations with a drawback of higher pressure drop.
 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847
Many researchers have investigated different parameters of
MCHSs in order to achieve noticeable enhancement in heat
removal and micro-channel’s cooling however, a systematic
approach can be established by optimization with properly defined
objective functions in the correct parameter ranges. The develop-
ment of commercial flow solvers and enhanced computing perfor-
mances enabled the integration of optimization algorithms with
numerical solvers for engineering problems. Gosselin et al. [21]
published a detailed review paper about how Genetic Algorithms
(GA) have been used in heat exchangers, power generation systems
and other types of engineering problems related to heat transfer
mechanism. They explained types of GA and mentioned that apply-
ing optimization algorithms into heat transfer problems became
widespread after 2005. Kulkarni et al. [22] performed multi objec-
tive geometrical optimization to double-layered MCHS. They used
response surface approach in order to reduce computational
demand of their problem. Baodong et al. [23] optimized the geom-
etry of rectangular MCHS with multi objective adaptive genetic
algorithm. Chen and Chen [24] performed a direction-based
genetic algorithm to optimize two types of plate-fin heat sinks.
They considered entropy generation and material weight as objec-
tive functions in order to obtain efficient and lightweight heat
sinks. Foli et al. [25] proposed two different methods to optimize
heat transfer and pressure difference in MCHSs. They stated that
combining analytical model with CFD simulations and applying
NGSA-II with CFD simulations provided successful optimized
design.
Karathanassis et al. [26] performed multi objective optimization
to two different configurations of the plate-fin heat sink. They used
one dimensional and three-dimensional numerical models to opti-
mize thermal resistance and pumping power. They stated that one-
dimensional model was capable of representing the fluid flow and
conjugate heat transfer in heat sink. Husain and Kim [27] opti-
mized thermal resistance and pumping power of trapezoidal and
wavy MCHS with the multi objective genetic algorithm by applying
three different surrogate models. They stated that surrogate mod-
els increase both the quality and diversity of the obtained Pareto
Front. Yin and Ooka [28] conducted shape optimization to water-
to–water plate-fin heat exchangers with single and multi objective
genetic algorithm. Entropy generations due to friction, heat trans-
fer and their summation were chosen to be optimized. They stated
that the convective heat transfer coefficient was found to be
dependent on plate and fin heat transfer areas. Halelfadl et al.
[29] used NSGA-II to optimize rectangular MCHS configuration.
They investigated the effects of wall ratio, channel aspect ratio
and properties of working fluid on thermal resistance and pumping
power. They showed that carbon nanotubes based nanofluid signif-
icantly enhanced the thermal performance of MCHS. Damawandi
et al. [30] optimized wavy fin-and-elliptical tube heat exchangers
by combining CFD with neural network and NSGA-II algorithms.
The showed that combining different optimization techniques
improve the quality of the optimization results.
Zeng et al. [31] applied topology optimization to mini channel
forced air heat sink and carried out numerical simulations vali-
dated by experiments. They found that the optimized design can
achieve lower junction temperatures for the same pumping power
or requires lower pumping powers for maintaining the same junc-
tion temperature compared to a conventional straight channel heat
sink. Ma et al. [32] applied multi parameter optimization for
micro-channel heat sink under different constraint conditions. In
the optimization, width ratio of chip to channel pitch, the width
ratio of channel to pitch and channel’s aspect ratio were taken as
the variables and the optimal designs were based on minimum
thermal resistance. The best thermal structure was found albeit
with high pressure difference penalty at individual constrains. Tul-
lius et al. [33] conducted optimization to micro fin pins in mini
3
channels to obtain maximum thermal performance. They obtained
Nusselt number and friction coefficient correlations for different
configurations with fins of various shapes and materials. Lin
et al. [34] optimized the flow and heat transfer in a double-layer
MCHS with the goal to minimize global thermal resistance where
the design variables in the optimization were selected as channel
configuration (channel’s height and number etc.) and coolant
velocity in the bottom channel. Multi objective optimization can
be applied to MCHS with nanofluid flow inside. Bahiraei et al.
[35] investigated the hydrothermal and entropy generation charac-
teristics of the biological nano fluid flow in the heat sink and suc-
cessfully optimized their models to minimize the surface
temperature, pumping power and irreversibility. In another study,
Bahiraei et al. [36] used neural network modeling for the optimiza-
tion of the use of a green graphene nano fluid in two novel micro
liquid blocks and found that the merit of using nano fluid is higher
than water at all concentrations in heat sinks. In a further study,
Bahiraei et al. [37] used multi-criterion optimization of thermohy-
draulic performance of a mini pin fin heat sink where optimal val-
ues of the concentration, fin diameter and fin height have been
obtained for minimizing surface temperature and pumping power.
Similar to their previous study, Bahiraei and Heshmatian [38] used
neural network modeling to optimize energy efficiency of a specific
liquid block operated with nano fluids for utilization in electronics
cooling. The input parameters were selected as volumetric concen-
tration, diameter of the nano fluidic particles and Reynolds number
and the objective functions were CPU temperature and pumping
power. A perfect match between the predicted output of the neural
network and CFD results was found for both CPU temperature and
pumping power.
As it can be understood from above literature review, many
researchers have performed GA as nature-inspired optimization
algorithm in order to achieve enhancements in MCHS’s overall per-
formance. They considered different parameters and objective
functions, thus they concluded different results from each other.
The motivation of the current study is to optimize a widely used
rectangular MCHS configuration in the literature. The well known
MCHS configuration designed by Qu and Mudawar [5] has been
considered as the target problem and optimized by the use of
NSGA-II. The originality of the study relies on the communication
of the ANSYS-Fluent flow solver with the optimization algorithm
coded in MATLAB, with the expectation of preventing possible
errors caused by surrogate models. On the other hand, it is aimed
that the readers are aware of the optimum designs and operating
conditions determined as a result of the optimization process for
the MCHS configuration of interest.
The paper is organized as follows: problem definition of the
MCHS is introduced, then the numerical approach used in CFD
and the optimization technique (NGSA-II) with its constraints
and objective functions are explained. The NGSA-II procedure is
explained and the population tests’ results are evaluated as Pareto
Fronts and optimized results are tabulated for the last generation.
Finally, regression models of the pumping power and averaged Nu
are proposed for the optimum design points of the MCHS of
interest.
2. Problem definition
The MCHS configuration of Qu and Mudawar [5] is adopted in
order to validate the numerical approach of the current study.
The same configuration is used for determining the optimization
constraints. The computational domain for the module which con-
sists of one micro-channel has dimensions of 44.8  19.05  0.467
(L  H  Wtotal) mm. The MCHS consists of a oxygen-free copper
substrate and micro-channels with rectangular cross-sections.
4 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

 !
@v @v @v @v @p @2v @2v @2v
qf þu þv þw ¼
þl þ þ
@t @x @y @z @y @x2 @y2 @z2
ð3Þ

 !
@w @w @w @w @p @2w @2w @2w
qf þu þv þw ¼
þl þ þ
@t @x @y @z @z @x2 @y2 @z2
ð4Þ

 !
@T f @T f @T f @T f @2T f @2T f @2T f
qf cp þu þv þw ¼ kf þ þ 2 ð5Þ
@t @x @y @z @x2 @y2 @z

@2T @2T @2T

þ þ ¼0 ð6Þ
@x2 @y2 @z2
The hydrodynamic boundary conditions are specified as
follows:
Fig. 1. 3-D model of MCHS (Dimensions are not propotional).

 No slip boundary conditions are valid on the walls,

 Symmetry boundary condition is applied on the symmetry
Deionized water is used in simulations as coolant. 3-D model of the plane of the MCHS
MCHS is given in Fig. 1. Dimensions of W, H, and L stand for the  Uniform velocity profile at the inlet of the micro-channel is
width, height and length of the heat sink, respectively. Wc , Hc rep- imposed and
resent channel’s width and height, respectively while Ww and Hb  Pressure outlet condition is defined at the outlet of the micro-
give supporting information about the whole configuration. channel.

3. Numerical approach Thermal boundary conditions are specified as follows:

In this study, finite volume based flow solver ANSYS Fluent 17.2  All walls are insulated except the bottom wall on which a con-
is used to solve fluid flow and conjugate heat transfer in micro- stant heat flux of 100 W/cm2 is applied.
channel flow. Optimization algorithm (NGSA-II) is encoded in  Uniform fluid’s temperature (288.15 K) is prescribed at the inlet
MATLAB R2017b. MATLAB script manipulates the inputs for CFD of the micro-channel.
simulations such as different geometries, meshes and applies dif-
ferent boundary conditions to the relevant case. Half of the domain Table 1 shows the constant thermo-physical properties of the
along the y-axis (symmetry) is used in order to reduce the compu- materials used in CFD simulations.
tational cost of each CFD simulation. The Reynolds number (Re) is defined in Eq. (7) where V repre-
sents the average inlet velocity and Dh is the hydraulic diameter.
3.1. CFD Modelling SIMPLE algorithm is used for pressure-velocity coupling where sec-
ond order upwind scheme is used for momentum and energy
A proper numerical model is expected to successfully represent equations. Convergence criteria for continuity, momentum and
the physical system with negligible differences,thus the following energy equations are 10
4, 10
5 and 10
6, respectively.
assumptions are done.
qVDh
Re ¼ ð7Þ
 Flow is incompressible, laminar and in steady-state. l
 As mentioned by Mokrani et al. [4], momentum and energy Kestin et al. [39] investigated the viscosity changes of water in
equations for large-scale channels are valid for hydraulic diam- several temperature ranges in detail and proposed Eq. (8) for usage
eters higher than 100 lm. between
8  C and 150  C. Polynomial regression in Eq. (9) is
 Material properties are considered to be constant except the implemented for the dynamic viscosity changes of water according
dynamic viscosity of water. Water’s dynamic viscosity is taken to temperature. Comparison of Eqs. (8) and (9) is shown in Fig. 2.
as a function of temperature. As Toh et al. [16] and Wang  
lðT  CÞ 20
T n
et al. [14] mentioned, the relation of viscosity with temperature log 10 ¼ 1:2378
1:303x10
3 ð20
T Þ
should be taken into account for successful modelling. lð CÞ
 t þ 96
þ 3:06x10
6 ð20
T Þ2 þ 2:55x10
8 ð20
T Þ3 g ð8Þ
Conservation of mass, momentum in three dimensions and
energy are solved in the CFD simulations. Eq. (1) is the continuity lðT  KÞ ¼ 0:4389
5:06698x10
3 T þ 2:2049x10
5 T 2
equation for incompressible flow, Eq. (2)–(4) are the Navier Stokes
equations for laminar flow in x, y and z directions respectively. Eq.
4:2779x10
8 T 3 þ 3:1185x10
11 T 4 ð9Þ
(5) is the conservation equation of energy. Eq. (6) is to used to solve
heat conduction in the solid part (substrate) of the MCHS.
Table 1
@u @ v @w Thermophysical properties of materials [14].
þ þ ¼0 ð1Þ
@x @y @z
Density Spesific Heat (cp ) Thermal Conductivity (k)

 ! (q) [kg/m3] [J/kg K] [W/m K]
@u @u @u @u @p @2u @2u @2u
qf þu þv þw ¼
þl þ þ ð2Þ Water 1000 4178 0.6
@t @x @y @z @x @x2 @y2 @z2 Copper 8933 385 401
 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847 5

The local convective heat transfer coefficient and the related Nus-
selt number (Nu) are given in Eqs. (14) and (15) respectively.
q
hðzÞ ¼ ð14Þ
T w ðzÞ
T f ðzÞ

hðzÞDh
NuðzÞ ¼ ð15Þ
kf

3.2. Mesh convergence tests and validation

The meshing process is performed with ANSYS Meshing. 3-D

mesh consists of quadrilateral elements constructed with face
meshing on the XY plane which is swept along the z axis. Relevant
edge sizing is defined to correctly predict the development of
hydrodynamic and thermal boundary layers. Mesh convergence
tests are performed in two stages. First, the number of elements
on XY plane is changed to correctly predict the pressure difference
between inlet and outlet as Fig. 3a indicates (meshes from A to H).
Second, resulting mesh (mesh ‘‘E”) is used in the next stage in
which the number of elements in z (streamwise) direction is chan-
Fig. 2. Viscosity changes of water according to temperature due to Eq. (8) and (9).
ged. As Fig. 3b shows, local Nu variations on the bottom wall of the
micro-channel obtained for different meshes in the second stage
The cross-section area and the hydraulic diameter of the micro-
(Mesh 1 to Mesh 5) are compared to the experimental data of Qu
channel are given in Eqs. (10) and (11) respectively.
and Mudawar [5] (heat flux of 100 W/cm2 and Re of 890) to con-
Ac ¼ W c H c ð10Þ firm the mesh quality and validate current CFD simulations. Details
about the generated meshes in mesh convergence tests are shown
2ðW c Hc Þ in Table 2.
Dh ¼ ð11Þ
ðW c þ H c Þ The final mesh from these tests reveals that a mesh consisting
of 819,000 elements is found to be sufficient for CFD modeling,
The local wall temperature of the micro-channel and local bulk
since compatible results with experimental data in [5] could be
fluid temperature in streamwise direction are given in Eqs. (12)
obtained.
and (13) respectively.
Z The deviation of the local Nu from the experimentation in the
1 thermally developing region can be associated to the difficulties
T w ð zÞ ¼ T f ðx; Hb ; zÞdx ð12Þ
Wc Wc in temperature measurements at the entrance. Since the agree-
R ment of the current CFD results with the experimental data in
qf wðx; y; zÞcp T f ðx; y; zÞdAc the fully developed region is satisfactory, no special treatments
T f ð yÞ ¼ Ac
R ð13Þ
q wðx; y; zÞcp dAc
Ac f
or corrections are carried out for the calculation of Nusselt number
in the thermally developing region.

Fig. 3. Results of mesh convergence tests: dependency of element sizes on (a) XY-plane and (b) streamwise direction.
6 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

Table 2 inlet and outlet are compared with the experimental data of Qu
Details of generated meshes. and Mudawar [5]. Fig. 5 shows that the CFD results are found to
Mesh ID Nx Ny Nz N total be in the error band of 10%.
A 60 18 140 151,200
B 75 22 140 231,000
4. Optimization technique
C 85 26 140 309,400
D 110 31 140 477,400
E 130 45 140 819,000 In optimizing the solution of a problem, systematic search for
F 145 55 140 1,116,500 the global optimum could be achieved by an optimization algo-
G 160 60 140 1,344,000 rithm instead of heuristic approaches. Today’s engineering prob-
H 180 75 140 1,890,000
Mesh1 130 45 80 468,000
lems consist of conflicting objective functions depending on
Mesh2 130 45 100 585,000 many design variables which makes heuristic approaches lesser
Mesh3 130 45 120 702,000 reliable. In such complicated cases, optimization algorithms over-
Mesh4 130 45 140 819,000 come conventional engineering estimations in the decision pro-
Mesh5 130 45 160 936,000
cess. Among many methods of optimization; GA (Genetic
Programming, Nature-inspired approaches) became popular in
the last decades due to their ease of handling and superior advan-
Fig. 4 shows the computational domain and the generated tages. GA has enabled to overcome some challenges such as non-
mesh. As it can be seen from Fig. 4b and c, mesh refinement is done differentiable problems, multiple objectives, irregular functions
near the walls to correctly predict boundary layer development. and implicit problems. One of the main drawbacks of GA is the
A further validation is carried out with inlet Reynolds numbers requirement for large number of function evaluations because of
in the range of 200 to 1000 and a heat flux of 100 W/cm2 applied their metaheuristic character. Evolvement of programming plat-
from the bottom of the substrate. Pressure differences between forms and high computing capabilities of computers enabled the

Fig. 4. Schematic representation of the final mesh: (a) computational domain, (b) surface mesh from an isometric point of view, (c) surface mesh of symmetry plane and (d)
magnified view of fluid domain.
 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847 7

integration of GA with computational approaches in engineering present study, NSGA-II is applied to heat and fluid flow problem
problems. Another important drawback of GA is that the optimiza- consisting of three design parameters and two objective functions.
tion result cannot meet the global optimum or Pareto Front. In the
4.1. Design variables and objective functions

The design parameters are the channel height (Hc ), the channel
width (Wc ) and inlet Re. Based on the symmetry boundary condi-
tion, the spacings between the micro-channels (Ww) depend on
the micro-channel’s width. Micro-channel’s height from bottom
surface (Hb ) is kept constant. The upper and lower bounds of the
design variables are tabulated in Table 3.
Upper and lower bounds of the design variables for optimiza-
tion process have been determined so that the design space con-
tains the reference design of Qu and Mudawar [5]. The upper
bound of Re ensures that the analysis are carried out in the laminar
flow region.
The first objective function was considered as the averaged
Nusselt number (Nu) along the micro-channel’s bottom wall that
was normalized by the experimental data in [5] for Re = 890 and
heat flux of 100 W/cm2. The second objective function was consid-
ered as the pumping power (PP) required to deliver the necessary
flow rate through the micro-channel normalized again by the ref-
erence data [5]. Thus, the thermal and hydrodynamic enhance-
ments might be compared to the available findings in the
literature.
The objective functions are defined in Eqs. (16)–(19):
Fig. 5. Validation of pressure differences in laminar flow region with the test case. Z L
1
Nu ¼ NuðzÞdz ð16Þ
L 0
Table 3
Design variable space with references. Nu
f1 ¼
ð17Þ
Wc [mm] Hc [mm] Re Nuref
Lower Bound 0.1 0.4 500
Upper Bound 0.3 1 1000 PP ¼ DPQ ¼ DPVAc ð18Þ
Step size 0.001 0.015 50
Qu and Mudawar [5] 0.231 0.713 139–1672 PP
Wang et al. [14] 0.09–0.4 0.4–1.830 100–1000 f2 ¼ ð19Þ
PP ref

Fig. 6. Flow Chart of NSGA-II Algorithm connected to CFD solver.

8 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

4.2. Procedure of NSGA-II Re. The flowchart of encoded optimization algorithm is schemati-
cally shown in Fig. 6.
The optimization algorithm used in the present study has been
first introduced by Deb et al. [40]. The method is based on genetic
4.3. Determination of optimization parameters
modifications such as crossover and mutation. The new individuals
which are generated by crossover and mutations are called off-
Finding a global optimum or optimal Pareto Front determines
spring or children while the base population is called parents.
the success of the optimization algorithm. Another criterion is
Non-dominated sorting and elimination of worst parents and off-
the speed of convergence which may be measured by the quantity
spring together makes the algorithm elitist. These modifications
of the function evaluation. Consequently, the parameters of NSGA-
should be repeated for every generation until stopping criteria is
satisfied. Initial population necessary to start the optimization pro-
cess is generated with Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS). Maximum Table 5
generation number is chosen as the stopping criteria. The algo- Initial and final (20th generation) design variable sets (Genes) of population.
rithm works in communication with ANSYS Workbench and Fluent First generation (generated with Final (20th) generation
separately. A single design point (a certain MCHS configuration) is LHS)
generated by updating the analysis inputs controlled by MATLAB Wc [mm] Hc [mm] Re Wc [mm] Hc [mm] Re
script followed by modifying the flow solver inputs such as inlet
0.17 0.865 900 0.29 0.565 900
0.18 0.46 600 0.29 0.595 500
0.1 0.985 500 0.29 0.595 900
0.13 0.415 700 0.29 0.595 500
0.2 0.73 650 0.29 0.94 700
0.28 0.94 950 0.29 0.61 950
0.12 0.715 850 0.29 0.595 500
0.29 0.805 600 0.29 0.625 500
0.25 0.535 900 0.29 0.535 500
0.19 0.505 750 0.29 0.67 750
0.14 0.655 850 0.29 0.595 600
0.26 0.895 800 0.29 0.61 500
0.23 0.625 700 0.29 0.535 550
0.23 0.595 550 0.29 0.595 700
0.15 0.775 550 0.29 0.625 500
0.25 0.475 950 0.29 0.535 600
0.29 0.565 900 0.29 0.625 950
0.22 0.445 950 0.29 0.625 500
0.21 0.58 800 0.29 0.595 500
0.24 0.52 650 0.29 0.625 600
0.22 0.43 550 0.29 0.505 500
0.21 0.55 600 0.29 0.595 750
0.27 0.4 600 0.29 0.94 700
0.26 0.475 700 0.29 0.595 700
0.28 0.505 850 0.29 0.67 850
0.29 0.4 500 0.29 0.67 1000
0.2 0.49 800 0.29 0.535 700
0.23 0.535 550 0.29 0.565 950
0.26 0.565 750 0.29 0.67 750
0.24 0.415 750 0.29 0.565 500
Fig. 7. Results of population test for NGSA-II.

Table 4
Literature summary of optimization studied focused on MCHS.

Article Problem Definition Parameters of Optimization Algoritm

Objective Functions Design Variables Number of Crossover Mutation Maximum number
Individuals Rate Rate of Generations
[22] Thermal Resistance and Pumping Power Aspect Ratio, Width Ratio, Flow Rate Ratio of 150 0.8 N/A 500
upper and lower channels
[23] Pressure Difference and Nusselt Number Width of micro-channel and fin 50 0.9 0.1 100
[24] Entropy Generation Rate and Material Cost Number of Fins, Height of Fins, Fluid Velocity 200 0.2 0.2 50
and spacing between fins
[25] Heat Transfer Rate and Pressure Difference Channel Height and Width 100 0.9 0.05 500
[25] Temperature uniformity, Entropy Generation, Geometric parameters (width and height) of 50 0.5 0.1 20
Max. Temperature of heat sink and Pumping upper and lower channel and Number of
Power Channels
[27] Thermal Resistance and Pumping Power Aspect Ratio, Width Ratio, Channel Height 100 0.95 0.25 250
Ratio
[28] Enrtropy production caused by heat transfer Fin height, length, thickness and pitch 50 0.8 N/A 1000
and friction
[29] Thermal Resistance and Pumping Power Aspect Ratio, Width Ratio 60 N/A N/A Stopping Criteria
with a tolerance of
10–6
[30] Pressure Difference and Heat Transfer Rate Four geometrical parameters 50 0.8 0 Stopping Criteria
with a tolerance of
10–6
 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847
II have an undeniable effect on convergence speed as well as the
success of optimization. In the present study, the optimization
parameters such as the number of population, crossover rate,
mutation rate and the maximum number of generations are
selected in accordance with the literature. A population test is per-
formed, because there is no robust rule how to determine those
parameters. Several population sizes are computed for five gener-
ations and results are compared. It is found that diversity of
designs was reduced to fewer population sizes. The population size
of Npop = 30 is chosen considering the variety of designs and the
quantity of function evaluation. Fig. 7 shows the results of the
mentioned population test.
Literature summary about the optimization studies is given in
Table 4. Hereby, Npop = 30 with a crossover rate of 0.6 and muta-
tion rate of 0.1 is selected as the appropriate combination of opti-
mization parameters for the problem of interest. The optimization
algorithm is performed for 20 generations.
Fig. 8. Results of the NSGA-II: (a) first generation, (b) fifth generation, (c) tenth generation, (d) twentieth generation.
9
5. Results
Table 5 shows the uniformly distributed initial population gen-
erated with LHS and the results of the design points for the final
(20th) generation. Through the optimization process, the final gen-
eration indicates that, the geometric parameters accumulate at
certain levels. On the other hand, the Reynolds number tend to
be scattered between the bounds more homogeneously. Some
overlapped chromosomes have been encountered in the 20th gen-
eration, indicating the dominance of these solutions because they
might have been obtained by different genetic processes.
f 2 ðf 1 Þ ¼ 1:984 þ 4:463f 1 þ 2:658f 1
2
ð20Þ
The polynomial regression curve representing the optimal
Pareto-Front in Fig. 8d is given in Eq. (20) with a adjusted R2 of
0.9983 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.007714.
10 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847

Fig. 8 shows the relation between two objective functions tively high Ac means more pumping power for larger amount of
through 20 generations from the generation of initial population fluid passing through it.
to the final Pareto Front. The Pareto-optimal solutions shown in Fig. 10 shows the variation of the averaged geometric parame-
Fig. 8 indicate that an improvement in overall heat transfer perfor- ters through generations for a number of population of 30. After
mance can be accomplished at a cost of higher pumping power. the 15th generation, the averaged geometric parameters of MCHS
The reference case was selected for f 1 =
1 and f 2 = 1 as can be have converged. Even though the aspect ratio (AR = Hc /Wc ) was
seen in Eqs. (17) and (19). As Fig. 8d indicates, fifteen of the cases not one of the design parameters, it has converged to an optimal
establish both better hydrodynamic and thermal performances value around 2.13 which is much lower than its initial value. This
compared to the reference case. In the remaining cases the normal- phenomenon may be linked to the boundary condition of the heat
ized pumping power (f 2 ) dramatically decreases while the normal- flux from the bottom surface of the MCHS, consequently the posi-
ized overall averaged Nu (f 1 ) is not affected that much; in other tive effect of Wc is considerably higher than the effect of Hc .
words, cost effective pumping power up to approximately 90% As demonstrated in Table 5, some of the optimum results accu-
reduction could be achieved with a decrease of the Nu by 10% com- mulated near the inlet Re of 500. In Fig. 11, the variations of the Nu
pared to the reference case. The shape of the Pareto Front becomes and the pumping power with respect to the aspect ratio of the
evident at 10th generation, however the results are used at the micro-channel are shown for Re = 500, 750 and 1000. It is seen that
20th generation.
The details of the Pareto Front are demonstrated in Fig. 9 with
temperature contours at three chosen design points representing
three characteristic of the problem. In Fig. 9b, Case A with design
variables of Re = 900, Wc = 0.29 mm and Hc = 0.565 mm, results
in the highest pumping power and averaged Nu among the repre-
sentative selections. In Fig. 9c, Case B with design variables of
Re = 600, Wc = 0.29 mm and Hc = 0.535 mm, has the same averaged
Nu as the reference case, but with a reduced pumping power by
79% with respect to the reference case. Finally, in Fig. 9d Case C
with design variables of Re = 500, Wc = 0.29 and Hc = 0.565, corre-
sponds to 14% of the pumping power and 88% of the averaged Nu
with respect to the reference case. Depending on the demand, one
can select among those representative optimized solutions either
enhanced heat transfer such as Case A or reduced pumping power
such as Case C. If the temperature distributions in the MCHS are
compared for Case A and Case C, a uniform temperature distribu-
tion is obtained in Case A due to heat transfer enhancement while
higher temperature gradients are observed in both solid and fluid
domains near the exit in Case C. High inlet Re and Ac can be asso-
ciated to improved heat transfer and increased pumping power.
High inlet velocity affects forced convection positively, while rela- Fig. 10. Progress of MCHS’s geometrical properties through generations.

Fig. 9. Resultant Pareto Front of the optimization and temperature contours for three representative configurations: (a) Pareto Front, (b) Case A, (c) Case B, (d) Case C.
 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847
Fig. 11. Effect of aspect ratio on pumping power and Nusselt Number for three
different flow Reynolds Numbers.
the pumping power decreases and the averaged Nusselt number
increases very slightly with increasing aspect ratio up to an
approximate critical value of 2.13. After that critical aspect ratio,
the tendency of both functions changes reversely.
The effect of the AR on Nu might be explained with the applica-
tion surface area of the heat flux. In the present study, since the heat
flux is applied from the bottom surface of the heat sink, lower aspect
ratios result in higher Nu at all Re. In the same way, the pumping
power required to overcome frictional forces might be evaluated
with the wet surface area of the rectangular micro-channel, there-
fore the AR should be regarded as a governing parameter.
Two regression equations for the unique optimum solutions
have been derived in order to define a relation between the design
variables and pumping power and Nu. Many function types are
Fig. 12. (a) Regression of pumping power varying with design variables, (b) regression of average Nusselt Number varying with pumping power (PPreg ).
11
trained and the most fitted regression model is suggested. Regres-
sion is computed with Curve Fitting tool of MATLAB.
Regression between the pumping power and design variables
show compatible results (adjusted R2 = 0.9939 and RMSE =
0.0001994). which is given in Eq. (21). In Eq. (21), PPreg and Ac have
units of W and m2 respectively, where the coefficient in the equa-
tion should have a unit of W/m0:4912
PPreg ¼ 1:21x10
7 Re2:182 A0:2456
c ð21Þ
Regression between the Nusselt number and design variables
provided satisfactory results (adjusted R2 = 0.999 and
RMSE = 0.02518). Resultant relation is given in Eq. (22). All of the
coefficients and variables in Eq. (22) are unitless.
Nureg ¼ 0:2806Re0:4663 AR0:05645 ð22Þ
In Fig. 12a and Fig. 12b, the comparison of the CFD results with
the regression predictions (Eq. (21) and (22)) for pumping power
and averaged Nusselt number is shown, respectively where perfect
match is found between the CFD results and suggested regression
curves.
6. Conclusion
Numerical simulations were conducted to study the fluid flow
and conjugate heat transfer characteristics in a MCHS with rectan-
gular cross section. A multi objective optimization (NSGA-II) was
used to find optimal operating and geometric design parameter
sets for the objective functions which were the averaged Nusselt
number and the required pumping power. In order to save compu-
tational time, symmetric configurations were used in the CFD cal-
culations and number of population of 30 was determined in the
optimization procedure from population tests. The Pareto Front
associated to the optimization problem was obtained by the use
of NSGA-II coded in MATLAB. The optimization procedure resulted
in the optimal tradeoff between convective heat transfer and
pumping power which were of mutually conflicting nature. Gen-
eral remarks are listed as follows:
12 Y. Alperen, C. Sertac / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 146 (2020) 118847
 The CFD simulations for steady, laminar flows revealed, that the
dependency of the viscosity on temperature should be taken
into account for a realistic model in accordance to the results
in literature.
 In the NSGA-II algorithm, the resultant generation has shown
that, the design variables except the Re accumulated at certain
levels. This accumulation throughout the optimization devel-
oped with decreasing aspect ratios of the micro-channel.
 NSGA-II algorithm has been carried out through 20 generations
and a convincing Pareto Front was obtained between the two
objective functions providing remarkable enhancements in
both demands.
 The optimization process was found to be a useful tool to
improve both hydrodynamic and thermal performances of the
MCHS. Based on the optimal trade-off results represented as
Pareto Front of the objective functions, one can select any
design point according to hydrodynamic or thermal demands
in the design process of such a MCHS.
 The final generation of the optimization process predicted opti-
mal design points uniformly distributed for inlet Re and
0.29 mm for the micro-channel’s width. The micro-channel’s
height was suggested in the range of 0.5–0.67 mm in most
cases.
 Both Re and aspect ratio of the micro-channel have dominant
effects on the Nu and PP. Among 6 Pareto optimal solutions with
inlet Reynolds number of 500, NSGA-II algorithm revealed that
both hydrodynamic and thermal performances of MCHS
increased up to the aspect ratio of 2.13. This was found to be
convincing, since this behavior of optimum solutions was
observed for 15 off-design points at Re = 750 and 1000 at all
aspect ratios and AR = 3 at all Re.
 A regression tool in MATLAB was used to predict the relations
between the design variables and the pumping power and Nu,
thus using these regression relations other optimum solution
can be obtained on the Pareto Front.
Finally, it should be pointed out that, the integration of the opti-
mization algorithms with numerical approaches in engineering
problems provides the opportunity of finding the optimum design
points and provides sufficient information about the effects of
design parameters.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declared that there is no conflict of interest.
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