Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Conversion and Management

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

Review

Electronics cooling with nanofluids: A critical review T

⁎
Mehdi Bahiraei , Saeed Heshmatian
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kermanshah University of Technology, Kermanshah, Iran

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: With increase of heat generated by new electronic components, a combination of nanofluid characteristics and
Nanofluid minichannel attributes has been introduced as a hot research topic. Development of such technology can result in
Electronics cooling further miniaturization of electronic equipment and also improve energy efficiency. In this article, the recent
Liquid block studies performed on use of nanofluids in electronics cooling are reviewed considering several aspects such as
Heat transfer enhancement
liquid block type, numerical approach, nanoparticle material, energy consumption, and second law of ther-
Pumping power
modynamics. Besides, some interesting aspects about employing nanofluids in cooling of electronic components
Energy efficiency
are introduced. Furthermore, the opportunities for future studies as well as the challenges existing in this field
are presented and discussed. It is found that applying nanofluids as novel coolants in different liquid blocks and
heat pipes can considerably improve electronics cooling technology in the future.

1. Introduction meet the cooling requirements of high heat producing electronic

In spite of significant growth during the past years, electronics in-
dustry and semiconductor technology have still some essential pro-
blems related to the cooling of their products with great performance
and high heat flux. In fact, ordinary cooling methods and common
coolants do not meet the cooling requirements for high heat producing
electronic chips. As a result, high efficiency electronic devices require
new approaches and coolants having great thermal performance to
dissipate their generated heat for reaching expected efficiency and re-
liability [1]. The investigations performed show that the minichannel
cooling systems with liquids as coolant are the most efficient ap-
proaches in modern electronics cooling [2].
On the other hand, suspensions containing solid nanoparticles,
termed nanofluids, demonstrate noticeably greater thermal attributes
compared with conventional coolants [3]. Several researchers have
reviewed the investigations conducted on nanofluids in different sectors
such as friction factor and convection heat transfer of nanofluids [4],
employing nanofluids in boiling heat transfer [5], particle migration in
nanofluids [6], mass transfer in nanofluids [7], and entropy generation
in nanofluids [8]. In general, the performed studies show excellent
characteristics of nanofluids in heat transfer systems [9]. Furthermore,
the reports from the limited evaluations conducted on using nanofluids
in liquid blocks also justify that this new class of suspensions act better
in electronics cooling in comparison with ordinary fluids. Indeed, the
innovative cooling methods like minichannel systems along with these
new fluids can considerably enhance heat dissipation efficiency and can
equipment. Hence, nanofluid based liquid blocks are a promising can-
didate for next generation electronics cooling devices.
In this survey, the research investigations carried out on application
of nanofluids in electronics cooling are reviewed. Different aspects such
as liquid block geometry, nanoparticle material, numerical approach,
and second law of thermodynamics are considered. Moreover, short-
comings and challenges in this filed are identified and discussed, and
several directions for future research are recommended. It should be
noted that different researchers have employed various parameters for
evaluating thermal performance of heat sinks. Thermal resistance of
heat sinks, average temperature of heating surface, maximum tem-
perature of heating surface, convective heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt
number as well as the temperature uniformity have been most utilized
characteristics for comparing thermal performance of different heat
sinks or different nanofluids.
2. Nanoparticle materials used in electronics cooling
Different nanoparticles have been utilized so far for preparing the
nanofluids to be used in liquid blocks. Oxide nanoparticles have been
most utilized materials in this field. In the following, various materials
used for this purpose are evaluated.
2.1. Carbon based nanoparticles
Nanofluids containing Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: m.bahiraei@kut.ac.ir (M. Bahiraei).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2018.07.047
Received 24 March 2018; Received in revised form 12 July 2018; Accepted 14 July 2018
0196-8904/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 1. Schematic of problem under study [11]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
sheets have been employed significantly for cooling in heat sinks. This
is because they possess excellent thermal conductivities and therefore,
can result in very good thermal characteristics.
Nazari et al. [10] examined the CPU cooling of alumina and CNT
nanofluids and compared the obtained outcomes with the cooling
performance of the ordinary fluids (i.e. water and ethylene glycol). The
results indicated a 4% increment in the convection heat transfer coef-
ficient in the case of using ethylene glycol. A 6% increase was also
obtained by using the alumina nanofluid at concentration of 0.5%.
Ali and Arshad [11] reported an experimental study to assess the
angle effect of pin fin heat sink channel on thermal resistance, con-
vection heat transfer coefficient, log mean temperature difference by
use of nanofluids containing Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs). Three
heat sinks with channel angles, relative to positive x-axis, 22.5°, 45° and
90° were investigated. Fig. 1 displays the schematic of problem under
study. The heat sink having channel angle of 22.5° showed superior
thermal performance in comparison with other liquid blocks.
Ebrahimi et al. [12] presented a numerical method for evaluating
the cooling performance of a microchannel heat sink with CNT nano-
fluids. It was shown that with increasing the nanolayer thickness of
MWCNTs, the microchannel heat sink temperature gradient reduces.
Moreover, thermal resistance of microchannel heat sink with the na-
nofluid containing MWCNTs was lower than the nanofluid containing
spherical nanoparticles.
Arshad and Ali [13] compared thermal and hydrodynamic perfor-
mances of graphene nanoplatelets nanofluids in comparison with dis-
tilled water on integral fin heat sink. Greater pumping power was ob-
served for GNPs nanofluids in comparison with the distilled water. With
using GNPs nanofluids, the minimum base temperature and highest
convective heat transfer enhancement were achieved respectively as
36.81 °C and 23.91% at Reynolds number of 972. Pumping power de-
pended on the flow rate and heat flux, and it was maximum for the
GNPs nanofluid at heat flux of 47.96 kW/m2.
It can be mentioned that carbon based nanofluids result in sig-
nificant improvement in the thermal performance of liquid blocks.
However, an essential challenge of using them is their poor stability in
aqueous media because they are naturally hydrophobic and so cannot
be dispersed in polar liquids like water. Recently, in order to improve
the dispersion of these nanoparticles, they are functionalized through
acid treatment and hence, become hydrophilic. It should also be noted
that applied organic solvents and strong acids commonly cause en-
vironmental pollution, corrosion and health problems. Consequently,
use of green and eco-friendly methods for functionalization is very
important. For the future studies in this context, the scholars should pay
a significant attention to the mentioned points, and the nanofluids
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
containing biologically produced graphene nanoplatelets can be sug-
gested as appropriate candidates for utilization in electronics cooling.
2.2. Oxide nanoparticles
Among different nanoparticles, spherical oxide nanoparticles have
been employed significantly to synthetize nanofluids for use in liquid
blocks. The reasons of extensive utilization of these nanoparticles in-
clude very good stability, low cost, suitable thermal conductivity, and
so forth. Alumina and titania nanoparticles have been applied more
than other oxide nanoparticles. A review on different oxide materials
employed in electronics cooling such as alumina, titania, CuO, and si-
lica is carried out as follows.
2.2.1. Al2O3 nanoparticles
Hasani et al. [14] investigated the influences of different interrup-
tions of fin on the transport attributes of a nanofluid-cooled electronic
heat sink with chevron configuration. Water and water-based nanofluid
with Al2O3 nanoparticles at volume concentrations of 0.5% and 1%
were experimented. The results indicated that using the interrupted fins
causes a better heat transfer process because of reduction in the fin
surface temperature and increment in the outlet coolant temperature.
Meanwhile, it resulted in significant decreases in the pressure loss due
to the increase in the fin porosity of the heat sink.
Nguyen et al. [15] experimentally researched the attribute and heat
transfer improvement of the water–Al2O3 nanofluid within a closed
system that was made for cooling of processors or other electronic de-
vices. The outcomes showed that the dispersion of the nanoparticles in
the pure water results in a significant increase in the convection heat
transfer coefficient. For 6.8% concentration, heat transfer coefficient
enhanced 40% compared with the base liquid.
Kamyar et al. [16] investigated the thermal performance of a two-
phase closed thermosiphon filled with the water–Al2O3 and water–-
TiSiO4 nanofluids. Various heat values (40, 70, 120, 180 and 210 W)
were used in the evaporator part. The results indicated that both na-
nofluids enhance the performance with reduction in thermal resistance
by 65% (at concentration of 0.05% for Al2O3) and 57% (at concentra-
tion of 0.075% for TiSiO4). Other improvements were also observed in
forms of enhancement in heat transfer coefficient and reduction in the
wall temperature of the evaporator. The authors stated that higher
thermal conductivity, deposition of a porous layer on the surface and
Brownian motion are responsible mechanisms for the achieved im-
provements in the heat transfer efficiency.
Nnanna et al. [17] investigated the thermal efficiency of a ther-
moelectric module using nanofluid-based heat exchanger. The system
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
under study employed a commercially available thermoelectric module,
Al2O3–water nanofluid, and a heat source as the chip. A comparison of
the nanofluid with the pure water showed that the temperature dif-
ference between the hot- and cold-side is about zero for the nanofluid
while it is larger for the water. In addition, experimental assessment
revealed that temperature gradient in the thermal paste that bonds heat
exchanger and the chip is much smaller for the nanofluid than that for
the pure water.
Jwo et al. [18] used a direct preparation method to synthetize the
alumina–water nanofluid for utilization in a multi-channel heat ex-
changer experiment. They simulated its application for an electronic
chip cooling system to assess the practicability of its real efficiency. The
results indicated that the overall heat transfer coefficient was greater at
higher concentrations. However, as the mass flow rate was greater, a
higher temperature does not cause higher increment of the overall heat
transfer coefficient. As a result, in addition to the concentration, the
coolant temperature is also an essential factor which can affect the
overall heat transfer performance.
2.2.2. TiO2 nanoparticles
Ambreen and Kim [19] studied the combined effects of employing
nanofluid and different fin cross-sectional shapes on the heat transfer
attributes of a micro pin-fin heat sink. Three fins configurations of the
square, circular and hexagon cross-section having constant fin diameter
and height were evaluated. The aqueous nanofluid containing TiO2
nanoparticle was simulated for the volume concentration and size of
4.31% and 30 nm, respectively. The results indicated that the nanofluid
cooled circular fins demonstrate most efficient thermal performance
followed by the hexagon and square fins. While the water cooled square
fins showed minimum heat transfer performance.
Nitiapiruk et al. [20] examined the efficiency of a microchannel
heat sink using TiO2–water nanofluid. The influences of uncertainties in
thermophysical properties on the friction factor and Nusselt number
were evaluated. It was found that the type of model is very important to
predict the friction factor, whereas the use of different models for the
thermal conductivity had not a significant effect on the estimation of
Nusselt number.
Nakharintr and Naphon [21] examined the effect of magnetic fields
on the thermal attributes and pressure drop of nanofluids in a confined
single jet impingement of mini-rectangular heat sink. The water–TiO2
nanofluid with different concentrations was considered as the working
fluid. Two magnetic fields with strengths of 0.084, 0.28 mT generated
by the Neodynium permanent magnetic bars were used. It was observed
that the Nusselt number enhances under the magnetic field, and it also
increases with increment of the magnetic field strength. Moreover,
because of the low concentrations of the nanofluids in this research, the
concentration had no noticeable impact on the pressure drop.
2.2.3. CuO nanoparticles
Sarafraz et al. [22] experimentally studied the heat transfer per-
formance of a heat sink operated with the CuO–water nanofluid, gal-
lium as well as the water. The CPU used was assessed at three condi-
tions including normal, standby, and overload operating states. It was
stated that the CuO–water nanofluid has a higher thermal efficiency in
comparison with the water, while shows less pressure loss and pumping
power, presenting a trade-off state relative to the gallium.
2.2.4. Silica nanoparticles
Rafati et al. [23] used the nanofluids for improving the cooling of
computer microchips. The utilized base fluid was different composi-
tions of deionized water and ethylene glycol. Three nanoparticle types
including silica nanoparticles were employed. The results showed an
increased heat transfer rate in the microchip cooling and a significant
decrease of the working temperature of processor in the condition of
applying the nanofluid rather than the pure fluid.
Escher et al. [24] employed the aqueous silica nanoparticle
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
suspensions in the microchannel heat sinks for electronics cooling. They
made the microchannel liquid blocks at three sizes, and characterized
their thermal performance as a function of the flow rate. It was revealed
that the nanofluid enhances the efficacy of microchannel liquid blocks.
2.2.5. ZnO nanoparticles
Guo et al. [25] assessed the thermal and hydraulic efficiencies in a
micro fin heat sink with ZnO–water nanofluids using both static and
dynamic single phase models. For the dynamic model, the Brownian
motion effect on thermal conductivity and viscosity was considered.
With Reynolds number ranging from 85 to 595, the heat transfer
coefficient of the dynamic and static models at volume concentration of
3% enhanced by 25.6–38.3% and 16.6–23.8%, respectively. It was also
reported that the nanofluids with greater volume concentrations and
lower particle sizes result in greater efficiencies.
2.3. Magnetic nanoparticles
Among studies in the area of nanofluids, some studies have per-
formed on Magnetic Nanofluids (MNFs). MNFs or ferrofluids mean
suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles and a non-magnetic base liquid.
Magnetic nanoparticles applied for preparing MNFs are usually pre-
pared in various dimensions and forms from metal (ferromagnetic
materials) like cobalt, iron, nickel, and their oxides like Fe3O4, spinel-
type ferrites, and so on. The chief attribute of this kind of nanofluids is
that other than enhancement of heat transfer features, they have
flowability like ordinary liquids and magnetic features similar to other
magnetic materials simultaneously. This excellent property makes it
applicable to manage liquid movement, heat exchange and motion of
particles using external magnetic fields and so, these suspensions pos-
sess a high potential for utilization in different sectors like heat transfer
engineering, bioengineering, and so forth. In the field of electronics
cooling, some investigations have also been carried out by employing
these nanofluids.
Gandomkar et al. [26] performed the experiments to evaluate the
efficient causes on thermal efficiency of two different Pulsating Heat
Pipes (PHPs) with the Fe based magnetic nanofluids. The heat pipes
were made of glass and copper. It was found that the stability of
magnetic nanofluid is higher in the glass heat pipe. It was also shown
that the application of magnetic field results in the best outcome in the
copper PHP, whereas the absence of magnetic field was superior in the
glass PHP.
Jahani et al. [27] investigated a micro pulsating heat pipe (MPHP)
to assess the effects of different working fluids including the water,
ferrofluid and silver nanofluid in the electronics cooling. The experi-
mental results indicated that the optimal charging ratio is 40% for
water, while it reaches 60% for the nanofluids. In most of states, the
MPHPs with the nanofluid had less thermal resistances than those with
the water.
As can be noticed, very few studies have used MNFs in electronics
cooling. However, due to the excellent capabilities of theses nanofluids,
more thorough investigations are required to be performed in order to
reach a detailed insight about characteristics of MNFs in heat sinks.
More studies in the future can result in the appropriate correlations
among applied magnetic field, the ferrofluid flow and temperature
profile of MNFs in liquid blocks. Moreover, one kind of MNFs is tem-
perature-sensitive ferrofluid, which experiences the thermomagnetic
phenomenon. It is recommended that in future investigations, the
magnetoviscous impact is comprehensively evaluated on thermo-
magnetic convection in heat sinks. The heat sinks that work with the
thermomagnetic effect can possess significant potential in the area of
electronics cooling in which a suitable heat removal is essential to
progress in the present trend of miniaturization of electronic devices. In
addition, with more improvement in ferromagnetic materials and
synthesis of superior magnetic nanofluids having higher magnetization
and larger pyromagnetic factor, magnetic nanofluids will find
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
noticeable applications in different sectors of electronics cooling.
Ferrofluid research can cause a key breakthrough in cooling of elec-
tronic components in the future.
2.4. Diamond nanoparticles
Hasan [28] numerically examined a micro pin fin heat sink with
three fins configurations (square, triangular and circular) as well as the
unfinned microchannel heat sink. The flow and heat transfer were re-
searched with two kinds of nanofluids (diamond–water and
Al2O3–water) as well as the pure water. The results revealed that em-
ploying the nanofluid rather than pure water as the coolant enhances
thermal performance with increase of the amount of heat dissipated but
it also led to pressure drop increment for all the configurations under
study.
2.5. Gold nanoparticles
Tsai et al. [29] applied a nanofluid containing the gold nano-
particles with different sizes in a heat pipe. The heat pipe was devel-
oped as a cooling equipment for CPU in a laptop or a personal com-
puter. For a similar charge volume, a noticeable decrease in the heat
pipe thermal resistance was observed with nanofluid in comparison
with the pure water. It was also indicated that the heat pipe thermal
resistance alters by changing the nanoparticle diameter.
2.6. Hybrid nanofluids
The hybrid nanofluids are new nanofluids which are produced with
dispersing unlike nanoparticles in composite state or mixture form. The
goal for preparing hybrid nanofluids is to enhance heat exchange rate
with improved thermal conductivity as well as benefiting some specific
attributes. Indeed, employing two or more different materials combines
the features of them, which can result in promising applications. In
order to cool electronic chips, some studies have also utilized hybrid
nanofluids in some situations.
Selvakumar and Suresh [30] applied a hybrid nanofluid containing
the Al2O3–Cu nanoparticles in a thin-channel copper liquid block. The
outcomes showed that the convection heat transfer coefficient enhances
significantly as the hybrid nanofluid is utilized compared with the base
liquid. Additionally, the increment in pumping power for the case of
using the hybrid nanofluid instead of the water was lower than the
increment of convection heat transfer coefficient.
Bahiraei and Heshmatian [31] investigated the effectiveness and
second law attributes of a hybrid nanofluid with graphene nanoplate-
lets having Ag nanoparticles in three heat sinks. A new distributor heat
sink was examined in comparison with two ordinary liquid blocks. The
results revealed that the heat sink with new distributor has a better
efficiency considering both irreversibility characteristics and heat
transfer performance. Furthermore, the merit of employing the nano-
fluid was greater than the water. Fig. 2 shows temperature contours for
three liquid blocks at the cross section through their centers for various
Reynolds numbers.
Using carbon based nanoparticles along with magnetic nanomater-
ials in a base liquid can be an appropriate option as hybrid nanofluid for
utilization in liquid blocks. In fact, functionalization of CNTs by mag-
netic nanoparticles can benefit the attributes of magnetic nanoparticles
as well as CNTs that can lead to innovative materials with new che-
mical, physical and thermal characteristics. With combining magnetic
nanoparticles and CNTs in a liquid, a new kind of hybrid nanofluids can
be synthetized, which possesses great thermal conductivity of carbon
nanotubes accompanied by controllability of magnetic nanomaterials.
In this state, in addition to possessing a high thermal conductivity, the
hybrid nanofluid will be controllable in the presence of external mag-
netic fields as well. As a result, employing these hybrid nanofluids is
recommended for use in different heat sinks in the future.
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
A comparison between thermal performances of different nano-
particles in cooling of electronic devices was conducted by
Khaleduzzaman et al. [32]. They assessed the thermal efficiency of
nanofluids in a microchannel liquid block. Three different nanofluids
containing SiC, CuO and alumina nanoparticles suspended in water
were used. For the CuO–water and alumina–water nanofluids, highest
enhancement values were 11.36% and 11.98%, respectively. Besides,
the nanofluids as the working fluid rather than the water demonstrated
a maximum heat transfer enhancement of 8.51% for the CuO nanofluid,
and 6.44% and 5.60% for the alumina nanofluid and SiC nanofluid,
respectively.
Finally, controlling the size and form of nanoparticles is an im-
portant challenge in producing nanoparticles, particularly in practical
applications such as employing nanofluids in liquid blocks, which can
affect the thermal performance considerably.
3. Different configurations used for electronics cooling with
nanofluids
Heat sinks are made from various materials with great thermal
conductivity like copper, aluminum, and silicon (see Fig. 3). Combi-
nation of different materials is also employed in order to eliminate the
defects related to attaching with the electronic processors.
In the following, different structures that have been employed for
cooling of electronic processors via nanofluids including those with
conventional parallel channels, heat pipes, jet impingement, double-
layer liquid blocks, wavy channels as well as the heat sinks equipped
with novel distributers are reviewed and discussed.
3.1. Liquid blocks with conventional parallel channels
Parallel channel liquid blocks are most utilized heat sinks in elec-
tronics cooling with nanofluids. These heat sinks usually possess cir-
cular or rectangular channels.
Al-Rashed et al. [34] investigated the impact of nanofluids on the
efficacy of a parallel channel liquid block for Central Processing Unit
(CPU) cooling numerically and experimentally. Fig. 4 shows a sche-
matic of the heat sink under study. The experimental study was per-
formed for the water and CuO–water nanofluid, while the numerical
simulation was conducted for the laminar flow. Thermal improvement
was up to 7.7% in case of applying the nanofluid rather than the pure
water.
Sohel et al. [35] assessed the heat transfer performance of a con-
ventional microchannel liquid block having circular channels (Fig. 5)
with employing three different nanofluids. The TiO2–water, alumina–-
water, and CuO–water nanofluids were utilized and compared. The
results indicated that the thermal efficacy improves considerably by
using CuO–water nanofluid as the coolant, while the alumina–water
and titania–water nanofluids presented a lower improvement.
Chen and Ding [36] analyzed the thermal attributes of a parallel
channel liquid block (Fig. 6) with the water–Al2O3 nanofluid. The mi-
crochannel heat sink was modeled as a porous medium saturated with
liquid. The temperature profile in the channel wall did not show sen-
sitivity to the inertial impact, whereas the liquid temperature profile
and the total thermal resistance varied considerably owing to the in-
ertial force.
Abbassi and Aghanajafi [37] studied the heat exchange improve-
ment of a conventional microchannel liquid block with the water–Cu
nanofluid. The results indicated that using the nanofluid causes a sig-
nificant heat exchange increment in heat sink and this improvement
rises with increase of the nanoparticle concentration and Reynolds
number.
Hosseini Hashemi et al. [38] reported a numerical work for devel-
oping temperature distribution and an analytical study for fully de-
veloped velocity distribution in an ordinary mini liquid block by use of
water–SiO2 nanofluid. The results indicated that the nanofluid shows a
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 2. Temperature contours in three liquid blocks for various Reynolds numbers [31]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Fig. 3. Different materials used for fabrication of heat sinks [33]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
superior performance than the water in the liquid block, and has a
greater heat transfer coefficient. It was also reported that increase of the
aspect ratio or the porosity augments the heat exchange rate.
Lelea [39] numerically modeled the flow and conjugate heat
transfer of alumina–water nanofluid inside a conventional micro-
channel heat sink (Fig. 7). The liquid block with square channels and
hydraulic diameter of 50 µm was regarded. Heat transfer enhancement
decreased when the particles enlarged. For greater pumping powers,
however, the heat transfer increment remained invariant for nano-
particles larger than 28 nm.
As seen, most of the studies performed on conventional heat sinks
have reported that nanofluids enhance the heat transfer characteristics
in electronics cooling, however, some of them have argued that nano-
fluids have not a significant effect on thermal performance of liquid
blocks. For instance, Korpys et al. [40] studied a commercial ordinary
heat sink for cooling a PC processor. Two working fluids including the
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
water and copper oxide nanofluid were used. The obtained results re-
vealed that the base fluid is appropriate for CPU cooling, and the na-
nofluid does not lead to a more noticeable heat transfer enhancement
than the water.
Since the temperature uniformity in conventional liquid blocks is
rather poor, they can be employed along with Phase Change Materials
(PCMs) for improving the thermal performance. The microchannel li-
quid blocks can be a promising electronics cooling item in the future.
More elaborate evaluations on them, however, should be conducted to
be utilized successfully in commercial scale applications for electronics
industry. The research in this filed can be followed in three general
directions; finding the optimal geometry for cooling equipment, re-
duction of the characteristic length as well as improving the thermal
performance of coolants. Growth of the microfabrication technology
has simplified the route of reaching modern heat sinks for improvement
of the overall performance, however, the academics should pay
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 4. Schematic of the heat sink under study [34]. Reprinted with permission
from Elsevier.
Fig. 5. Copper microchannel heat sink having circular channels [35]. Reprinted
with permission from Elsevier.
Fig. 6. Parallel channel heat sink under study [36]. Reprinted from C.H. Chen,
C.Y. Ding, Study on the thermal behavior and cooling performance of a nano-
fluid-cooled microchannel heat sink, International Journal of Thermal Sciences
2011; 50: 378–384. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights re-
served.
adequate attention to temperature uniformity in their new designs. The
thermal design of cooling devices for electronic processors should also
be modified for use with nanofluids as coolant.
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
3.2. Heat pipe
Another type of devices in electronics cooling with nanofluids are
heat pipes. Fig. 8 shows the working procedure of a heat pipe, which is
easy and on the basis of phase change heat transfer within an enclosed
metallic configuration.
Yousefi et al. [42] performed an experimental work on thermal
performance of a CPU cooling heat pipe considering the influences of
inclination angle and employing nanofluids. It was found that inclina-
tion angle affects the cooling process, which is because of the capillary
effect and boiling restrictions of the heat pipe. In addition, there was a
threshold angle for which the heat pipe thermal resistance intensified
significantly.
Putra et al. [43] evaluated the use of titania–water and alumina–-
water nanofluids as the coolant in a heat pipe connected with ther-
moelectric cooling. In comparison with the other ordinary cooling
methods, this combined cooling technique with nanofluids demon-
strated a higher reduction in chip temperature. It was shown that the
nanofluids decrease the thermal resistance in addition to the tempera-
ture discrepancy between the coolant and the heating wall.
Wan et al. [44] studied the characteristics of a mini loop heat pipe
(mLHP) operated with nanofluids for electronics cooling. The nanofluid
under study was prepared with copper nanoparticles and pure water. By
employing the nanofluid instead of the pure water, decreases of 12.8%
and 21.7% were obtained for the wall temperature of the evaporator
and whole thermal resistance, respectively, whereas a 19.5% increment
was seen for the heat transfer coefficient.
Wang et al. [45] utilized the water–Cu nanofluid at various volume
concentrations as the working fluid in a mLHP for electronics cooling.
Experiments were performed for investigating the thermal perfor-
mance, and it was revealed that the heat flux and the boiling tem-
perature are non-monotonic function of nanoparticle concentration.
Moreover, the maximum boiling temperature was achieved at nano-
particle concentration of 1.5 wt%.
Asirvatham et al. [46] assessed the enhancement in heat transfer
performance of a heat pipe by employing water–Ag nanofluid. A con-
siderable decrease in thermal resistance of 76.2% was seen for nano-
particle concentration equal to 0.009%. In addition, a 52.7% increment
was obtained for the evaporation heat transfer coefficient. It was
mentioned that the utilization of nanoparticles improves the working
range of device by 21% in comparison with the pure water.
There are a very limited number of studies performed on the in-
vestigation of inclination angle or gravity on the thermal efficacy of
heat pipes working with nanofluids in CPU coolers. Due to the sig-
nificant effects of these parameters, they should be considered in the
future studies in this area. In addition, the investigations on the ther-
mosyphon boiling in heat pipes for nanofluids are very sparse that
should be regarded for performing more accurate surveys.
3.3. Impingement jets
An efficient technique for augmenting local heat transfer is to em-
ploy impinging jets on the heating surfaces. Impinging jets are ex-
tensively applied in technological fields such as paper drying, turbine
blade cooling, tempering of glass, and annealing of metal sheets.
Cooling by impingement jets has the benefit of a small boundary layer
because of the stagnation point flow where the jet core impinges the
goal surface. Due to the appropriate characteristics of impinging jets,
some researchers have employed them for cooling of electronic chips
with nanofluids.
Gherasim et al. [47] conducted an experimental research of heat
transfer enhancement capabilities of working fluids with Al2O3 nano-
particles suspended in water in a radial flow cooling equipment. It was
found that the Nusselt number enhances with increment of Reynolds
number or nanoparticle concentration while reduces with the incre-
ment in disk spacing. Fig. 9 displays the experimental test section in this
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456

Fig. 7. Microchannel heat sink used by Lelea [39]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.

Fig. 8. Working procedure of a heat pipe [41]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.

study.
Nguyen et al. [48] studied the heat transfer performance of an
alumina–water nanofluid in a confined and submerged impinging jet on
a horizontal, even and circular surface for the purpose of electronics
cooling. It was noticed that maximum heat transfer coefficient can be
achieved using a moderate nozzle-to-surface distance of 5 mm and a
nanoparticle concentration of 2.8%. However, the nanofluid with great
volume concentrations was not suitable for the heat transfer enhance-
ment under the confined impinging jet state.
Li et al. [49] employed a jet impingement cooling with two types of
Cu–water nanofluids (Cu particles with 25 nm diameter or 100 nm).
The effects of the Reynolds number, nanoparticle concentration, fluid
temperature, nozzle-to-plate distance, and nanoparticle size on the heat
transfer performance of the jet impingement of nanofluids were eval-
uated. The results revealed that the nanoparticles remarkably enhance
the convective heat transfer coefficient, such that the convective heat
transfer coefficient of Cu–water nanofluid with the volume concentra-
tion of 3% was 52% higher than that of pure water. Moreover, the
experiments showed that the suspended nanoparticles cause almost no
extra addition of pressure loss. Furthermore, a new correlation for
predicting the heat transfer of the system was developed.
It should be noted that impinging jets are appropriate for local
cooling at the impingement location on relevant surface. In the field of
nanofluids, however, researchers have only studied single jets in the
electronics cooling. While for a wide surface, multiple impinging jets
should be adopted. It can be mentioned that the flow characteristics for
multiple jet impingements are very complex since the passed fluid from
the upstream flows along the plate as wall jet and ultimately interacts
with flow of downstream impinging jet. This issue reduces the thermal
performance of the downstream jet. In the future, study of multiple jet

444
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 9. Experimental test section [47]. Reprinted from I. Gherasim, G. Roy, C.T.
Nguyen, D.V. Ngoc, Experimental investigation of nanofluids in confined la-
minar radial flows, International Journal of Thermal Sciences 2009; 48:
1486–1493. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
impingements for electronics cooling through nanofluids should be
carried out for an in depth understanding of governing mechanisms in
this field.
3.4. Double-layer liquid blocks
Although single-layer microchannel heat sinks have resulted in
noticeable enhancements in cooling efficiency, they have not been very
successful in creating a uniform temperature distribution. High tem-
perature alteration might happen since the great amount of heat pro-
duced in new processors cannot be dissipated with the rather low
amount of coolants and therefore, the coolant will experience a rather
high temperature. As a result, Vafai and Zhu [50] suggested a double-
layer microchannel liquid block outline as an alternative approach in
which a rather uniform temperature profile can be obtained. Numerical
investigations have revealed that double-layer microchannel heat sinks
possess greater heat transfer ability than single-layer ones [51]. Cheng
[51] stated that the thermal resistance of a double-layer liquid block
can be decreased by 47.7% in comparison with a single-layer one.
Khaled and Vafai [52] also mentioned that double-layer flexible mi-
crochannel heat sinks present a greater cooling rate than single-layer
ones at a smaller range of pressure drop. In fact, in double-layer heat
sinks, a cold fluid passes from the upper channel with a counter flow
arrangement, which cools the lower fluid and therefore, a more uniform
cooling can be achieved on the surface of electronic components. Be-
cause of proper features of double-layer heat sinks, some of studies have
investigated employing nanofluids in them for cooling of electronic
chips.
Rajabifar [53] examined the heat transfer performance a 3D con-
jugated heat exchange model of a double-layer microchannel liquid
block by employing the nanofluids. The outcomes revealed that use of
the suggested configuration improves the cooling efficiency of the de-
vice, and the shortcomings related to the innovative working fluid are
significantly removed. Fig. 10 presents the schematic of the
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
configuration under investigation.
Sakanova et al. [54] numerically investigated two advanced mi-
crochannel configurations including the double-side (sandwich) and
double-layer (DL). The microchannels were integrated in the Cu-layer
of direct bond copper (see Fig. 11). For the optimum configuration, the
double-side architecture with counter flow demonstrated a decrease in
thermal resistance by 52%, 53% and 59% in comparison with DL with
unidirectional flow, DL with counter flow and single-layer, respectively.
Hung and Yan [55] analyzed the thermal performance of a double-
layer microchannel liquid block by employing a nanofluid and varying
the geometric characteristics. The analysis showed that the important
variables determining the thermal resistance are the type of nanofluid,
particle concentration, geometric parameters as well as the pumping
power. The maximum improvement was obtained when the
Al2O3–water nanofluid was employed. Moreover, the thermal resistance
of the channel can be minimized with appropriately setting the particle
concentration at different pumping power values. The Al2O3–water
nanofluid indicated a heat transfer enhancement of 26% relative to the
water.
The literature review showed that although double-layer heat sinks
are widely utilized in different applications with conventional fluids as
the coolants, few investigations have researched the heat transfer en-
hancement in them with using nanofluids. Most of the conducted stu-
dies have concentrated on enhancing the thermal characteristics of
single-layer heat sinks with nanofluids. More studies are needed to
better understand the attributes of nanofluid flow in this type of heat
sinks. It should be noted that selection of fluids is also very essential in
these heat sinks. Indeed, two different fluids are utilized in double-layer
liquid blocks, which both of them can be nanofluid, or only one of them
might be selected as nanofluid. Moreover, the arrangement of fluids is
of importance for selection of the fluid closer to the heating surface.
These issues should be studied carefully by the researchers in the future.
3.5. Wavy channel
Wavy channel is a new structure to obtain greater heat exchange
with altering a plane straight channel and only price of a rather further
pressure loss. An experimental work considering wavy channel to pre-
dict thermal attributes and mass transfer of laminar flow was performed
by Goldstein and Sparrow [56]. It was concluded that the heat transfer
rate for the wavy channel is superior than parallel plate channels. An-
other experimental investigation on stream through a sinusoidal cavity
conducted by Saidi et al. [57] showed that the thermal features and
mass transfer characteristics are affected by vortex formation outline,
and both heat transfer and pressure loss within the wavy-walled
channel are greater than those inside the parallel plate channel. Re-
garding the promising effects of using wavy channels in thermal sys-
tems, some of scholars have evaluated the influence of such channels in
heat sinks working with nanofluids to cool electronic devices.
Sakanova [58] employed the wavy channel structure and applica-
tion of nanofluids in a microchannel for electronics cooling. Three kinds
of nanofluids with concentrations from 1 to 5% were studied. It was
shown that in the case of applying the water as the coolant, the thermal
performance of the wavy channel is considerably enhanced compared
with the usual straight channel heat sink, whereas the replacing the
water with the nanofluids made the influence of the wavy modification
insignificant. The results indicated that the diamond–water nanofluid
shows the greatest thermal performance and the smallest thermal re-
sistance regarding the nanofluids under investigation.
Because the studies conducted on wavy channels in heat sinks are
very few for nanofluids, it is not possible to take the general outcomes
for applied situations. Hence, much more investigations are needed to
better characterize the behavior of nanofluids in such geometries.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 10. Schematic of the configuration under investigation [53]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Fig. 11. Cross sections of DL, sandwich and single layer heat sink structures; the computational domain is shown inside the dashed lines [54]. Reprinted with
permission from Elsevier.
3.6. Employing new distributers in heat sinks to improve temperature
uniformity
Many investigations on liquid cooling by employing liquid blocks
have been carried out, however, these studies paid insufficient care to
the flow maldistribution to some channels on a surface [59]. Heat sinks
frequently possess several parallel channels, so that these tiny channels
present a great heat transfer area for purpose of heat transfer im-
provement. But, the effect of manifolds in inlet and outlet is also es-
sential since they divide the stream among the channels. In effect, it is
known that a non-even flow distribution decreases heat sink efficiency
since it results in large local temperatures, and increases pressure loss
and pumping power needed for liquid block work. Moreover, large
temperature gradients augment thermal stresses in electronic pro-
cessors and hence, reduce reliability. As a result, some scholars have
made the attempts to identify the maldistribution of flows about
common flow architectures like Z-type and U-type manifold joints to
parallel channels. Ramos-Alvarado et al. [60] employed a novel dis-
tributor made by T-shaped flow divisions between the channels for
water as the working fluid. This design can cause a flatter flow dis-
tribution compared with other outlines. In order to progress this new
idea, it was adopted by Bahiraei and Heshmatian [61] for nanofluids
aimed at enhancement of thermal performance and cooling uniformity
in liquid blocks. The authors attempted to evaluate and optimize the
energy efficacy of this heat sink operated with the water–alumina
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
nanofluid. Based on the obtained results, the even flow distribution in
the liquid block led to a rather even temperature profile on the elec-
tronic chip surface. The optimization results showed that even in the
cases that the pumping power has a great priority, the nanofluid with
low nanoparticle diameter and high volume concentration can be em-
ployed. Fig. 12 illustrates the liquid block under study with the chan-
nels that divide the flow.
In different liquid blocks, employing mechanical pumps to move the
liquids can lead to some issues such as great energy consumption, un-
wanted vibration of the moving parts and noise, and consequently, it
can decrease the reliability of the cooling device. Furthermore, thanks
to intricate components, the problem of maintenance should be con-
sidered by the scholars in this field. In the studies of this area, the
continuum assumption and the applicability of Navier-Stokes equation
in different liquid blocks for simulation of the heat transfer and flow
behavior of nanofluids in microchannels require to be accurately ex-
amined by the researchers. Moreover, because of the large number of
models to estimate thermophysical properties of nanofluids, it is es-
sential to have a careful assessment for selecting the optimal models for
simulation in heat sinks. In addition, since there are several causes af-
fecting the heat exchange attributes in liquid blocks, noticeable formula
to predict heat transfer enhancement of nanofluids in them have not
been developed so far. Besides, it should be noted that agglomeration of
nanoparticles is more important in electronics cooling compared with
other industrial sectors because of the very narrow size of the channels.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 12. The liquid block under investigation: (a) inside, (b) outside [61]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Considering the abovementioned points can result in a thorough eva-
luation of liquid blocks in future studies.
4. Analysis of electronics cooling with nanofluids through second
law of thermodynamics
The majority of the studies carried out on nanofluids have used the
first law of thermodynamics for evaluating the heat transfer problems,
which cannot be sufficient to clarify the thermal performance of sys-
tems. Note that heat exchange processes cause an irreversible rise in
entropy. As a result, although energy conservation exists, the energy
quality diminishes with conversion to another energy type in which less
amount of work can be achieved. Therefore, it is essential to assess the
attributes of nanofluids on the basis of the second law of thermo-
dynamics too. In this regard, some of researchers have benefitted from
the second law of thermodynamics to evaluate capabilities of nano-
fluids in electronics cooling and their irreversibility.
4.1. Experimental contributions
Khaleduzzaman et al. [62] experimentally studied the entropy
production and exergy of titania–water nanofluid for cooling of an
electronic component via a liquid block. It was noticed that the base
temperature reduces by increasing the flow rate and with addition of
the nanoparticles in comparison with the water. The exergy gain was
increased by adding the nanoparticles into the water, and decreased
with the flow rate increment. The maximum exergy efficiency was
obtained to be 39.63% for the nanofluid at flow rate of 1.5 l/min.
Sohel et al. [63] examined the thermal performance and second law
characteristics of Al2O3–water nanofluid as the coolant in a mini-
channel heat sink. The results indicated that the nanofluid decreases the
temperature of liquid block in comparison with the common fluid. It
was also reported that the rate of thermal entropy production reduces
by employing the nanofluid instead of the water.
Khaleduzzaman et al. [64] experimentally conducted the exergy and
energy study of a rectangular liquid block with use of a nanofluid. The
maximum enhancement of outlet exergy, which was equal to 60.86%,
was achieved for the alumina–water nanofluid at concentration of
0.25% and flow rate of 1.0 l/min compared with the base liquid. Fur-
thermore, the second law efficiency increased with the increment of the
volume concentration.
4.2. Numerical contributions
Bahiraei and Heshmatian [65] investigated hydrothermal attributes
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
and entropy generation of an eco-friendly nanofluid including Ag na-
noparticles in a heat sink for cooling of an electronic chip. Nano-
particles prepared by the plant extract method from green leaves of tea
were used. The results indicated that for an invariant pumping power,
the nanofluid shows superior cooling than the water. In addition, the
entropy production study showed that entropy generation in the heat
sink reduces with increase of either Reynolds number or concentration.
Shalchi-Tabrizi and Seyf [66] assessed the effect of applying the
Al2O3–water nanofluid on entropy generation, hydrodynamic efficiency
and thermal attributes of a tangential micro liquid block. It was per-
ceived that total entropy generation reduces with increase of the vo-
lume concentration or Reynolds number and reducing the particle
diameter. Fig. 13 illustrates the structure of the heat sink under study as
well as the flow directions.
The studies about analysis of the second law of thermodynamics on
nanofluids within liquid blocks have frequently focused on global (in-
tegrated) entropy generation in whole systems. However, it should be
noted that local investigation of entropy generation shows entropy
produced in each point of system, and can also be used as a guide to
decrease exergy destruction in systems with recognizing the chief
sources of irreversibility. Consequently, investigating local entropy
generation rates for flow of nanofluids in heat sinks is proposed as an
interesting topic for the future research. It can result in an optimal
utilization of liquid blocks in electronics cooling.
5. Pumping power considerations
Adding solid nanoparticles to a base liquid can intensify pressure
loss because of viscosity increment and thus, augment pumping power
required for move of the nanofluid in heat sinks. For a thorough eva-
luation of liquid blocks, in addition to thermal performance, it is ne-
cessary to examine the pumping power in them as well. This is because
pumping power determines the energy consumption required for heat
sink operation. In fact, each modification in heat sinks with the purpose
of heat transfer enhancement, should also be evaluated from the
viewpoint of energy consumption. Particularly, the pressure drop can
be large in liquid blocks because of small hydraulic diameters of the
channels. In this regard, some of scholars have researched required
pumping power and friction characteristics in different heat sinks op-
erated with nanofluids.
5.1. Experimental contributions
Rimbault et al. [67] performed an experimental study of the thermal
and hydraulic attributes of the water–CuO nanofluid flowing within a
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 13. The structure of the heat sink under study as well as the flow directions [66]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
microchannel heat sink. The results revealed an increment in the
pressure loss and the friction coefficient for the nanofluid compared
with the water. A small heat transfer increment as compared with water
for nanofluids at low concentrations, i.e. 0.24% and 1.03%, was ob-
served whereas for 4.5% concentration, an obvious reduction of heat
transfer was noticed. Generally, the nanofluid overall energetic per-
formance, i.e. the ratio of heat transfer to pumping power, remained
smaller than that of pure water for Reynolds numbers under study.
Sohel et al. [68] evaluated the thermal efficacy of a minichannel
heat sink by employing nanofluid rather than the pure water. The na-
nofluid was passed inside a custom made copper minichannel liquid
block with the height of 0.8 mm and the width of 0.5 mm. The ex-
perimental results revealed the greater enhancement of the thermal
efficiency in the case of using the nanofluid rather than the water. It
was found that the nanofluid considerably reduces the base tempera-
ture of the liquid block as 2.7 °C, and it also showed 15.72% lower
thermal resistance at 0.25% concentration. Additionally, the authors
stated that the extra pumping power can be negotiated regarding the
thermal efficiency improvement of the nanofluid in comparison with
the pure water.
Selvakumar and Suresh [69] investigated the performance of the
CuO–water nanofluids. A thin-channel water block was utilized ac-
cording to Fig. 14. The maximum enhancement in convection heat
transfer coefficient was noticed as 29.63% at 0.2% concentration. Be-
sides, the values of pumping power for the nanofluids and pure water
were evaluated via the pressure loss in the liquid block, and the mean
Fig. 14. (a) Photograph of water block (b) thin-channel copper base with jet plate [69]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
augmentation in pumping power was 15.11% for concentration of 0.2%
compared with the water.
Roberts and Walker [70] assessed the efficiency the water-based
alumina nanofluids at different concentrations in an electronics cooling
system. The system under study was a liquid block utilized for cooling
of an electronic processor. The results indicated an increment in con-
vective heat transfer owing to adding the nanoparticles. In addition, the
authors stated that the results are promising since the nanofluids do not
cause a high intensification in pumping power.
Ghasemi et al. [71] carried out an experimental study on cooling
efficiency of utilizing a nanofluid rather than pure water in a mini-
channel heat sink. The heat sink included the four circular channels
having hydraulic diameter of 6 mm. The results revealed that the na-
nofluid cooled heat sink outperforms the water-cooled one, and pos-
sesses greater heat transfer coefficient. However, despite the increment
of the dynamic viscosity owing to dispersing the nanoparticles in water,
the pumping power for the nanofluid-cooled heat sink increased
slightly.
Azizi et al. [72] investigated the heat transfer performance of a
cylindrical microchannel liquid block to cool electronic equipment. The
Cu–water nanofluid was employed as the coolant. The Nusselt numbers
of nanofluids with concentrations of 0.05, 0.1 and 0.3 wt% increased
about 17%, 19% and 23% in comparison with the pure water. While a
significant increase was achieved for the heat transfer coefficient at
concentration of 0.3 wt% compared with the water, however, the re-
levant pressure loss was minor.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 15. (a) Schematic of the MPFHS, (b) the temperature contours [74]. Reprinted from H.R. Seyf, M. Feizbakhshi, Computational analysis of nanofluid effects on
convective heat transfer enhancement of micro-pin-fin heat sinks, International Journal of Thermal Sciences 2012; 58: 168–179. Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Masson
SAS. All rights reserved.
Ho et al. [73] experimentally researched convection cooling effi-
ciency of a microchannel liquid block in the case of applying alumi-
na–water nanofluid. The results demonstrated that the liquid block with
the nanofluid has a superior performance than that with the pure water.
The authors mentioned that despite the significant increment in the
viscosity because of suspending the Al2O3 nanoparticles in the base
fluid, the friction coefficient for the liquid block operated with the
nanofluid was somewhat intensified only.
5.2. Numerical contributions
Seyf and Feizbakhshi [74] numerically studied the use of nanofluids
in Micro-Pin-Fin Heat Sinks (MPFHSs). The water was utilized as the
base liquid whereas the nanomaterials employed were CuO and Al2O3
nanoparticles. A noticeable heat transfer enhancement was obtained
caused by suspension of nanoparticles in the water. In addition, in-
crease of the concentration which was responsible for greater heat
transfer performance resulted in larger pressure drop while the en-
hancements were small. Fig. 15 illustrates the schematic of the MPFHS
as well as the temperature contours.
Ijam et al. [75] used the water–alumina and water–titania nano-
fluids in a minichannel heat sink. It was concluded that adding the
nanoparticles to water enhances the thermal conductivity. Moreover,
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
using the Al2O3–water nanofluid rather than the water enhanced the
cooling by 17.32%, while employing the TiO2–water nanofluid in-
creased it by 16.53%. At concentration of 4%, the maximum pumping
power in the case of applying the nanofluids was 0.000552 W for ve-
locity of 0.1 m/s, and 0.12437 W for velocity of 1.5 m/s.
Bahiraei and Heshmatian [76] investigated the hydrothermal attri-
butes of a hybrid nanofluid including graphene–Ag nanoparticles
within two novel liquid blocks. Increment of the velocity or con-
centration increased the pumping power in two liquid blocks. Mean-
while, the heat transfer had a greater contribution in irreversibility
compared with the friction. The authors argued that using the liquid
block having more path variations and also employing the relevant
nanofluid can be desirable items to be used in applications of electro-
nics cooling.
Some of the results reported by different researchers about pumping
power of nanofluids in heat sinks are rather inconsistent. For example,
Selvakumar and Suresh [69] indicated a rather significant increment in
the pressure drop due to adding the nanoparticles, while Roberts and
Walker [70], Azizi et al. [72] and Ho et al. [73] mentioned that the
pumping power increment is insignificant. As a result, more experi-
mental and numerical investigations are required to disclose the be-
havior of nanofluids in liquid blocks in terms of pressure loss and en-
ergy consumption.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
6. Optimization of liquid blocks operated with nanofluids
Regarding the fact that adding the nanoparticles to conventional
liquids intensifies pumping power along with heat transfer improve-
ment, and it is known that pumping power increment and heat transfer
augmentation respectively are negative and positive phenomena, it is
important to reach the optimal points with maximum heat transfer
along with lowest pumping power (i.e. minimum energy consumption).
In reality, optimization is a valuable route to reach this purpose.
Although several studies have been performed with the goal of opti-
mization in the field of nanofluids [77], very few investigations have
been conducted for optimizing the characteristics of nanofluids in li-
quid blocks for electronics cooling.
Mital [78] evaluated heat transfer improvement of a liquid block
operated with the nanofluid considering the pumping power. The va-
lidated model was applied to estimate the pumping power and thermal
resistance in terms of four design parameters including the wall width,
channel width, particle concentration and flow velocity. A Genetic Al-
gorithm (GA) was employed for optimizing the relevant parameters.
Minimum thermal resistance was considered as the objective function,
and invariant pumping power was assumed as the constraint. Ex-
amining the minimum thermal resistances showed just a low advantage
because the nanoparticles intensify the pumping power, and this can
alternately be diverted toward an enhanced velocity in a liquid block
with pure fluid.
Cruz-Duarte et al. [79] introduced a method for designing a heat
sink as a solution of the thermal management problem in microelec-
tronic chips. The design was performed on the basis of the entropy
generation minimization, while it was optimized via three different
non-conventional methods, namely: Unified Particle Swarm Optimiza-
tion, Spiral Optimization and Cuckoo Search. The water–TiO2 nanofluid
was utilized as the coolant. It was shown that nanofluids can be good
alternatives for the cases with smaller flow rates, requiring a less na-
noparticle volume concentration. It was also found that the Cuckoo
Search algorithm is more accurate and faster than the other two ap-
proaches in this research.
Rahimi-Gorji et al. [80] carried out an assessment of the heat
transfer for a microchannel liquid block working with different nano-
fluids including the Cu, Al2O3, Ag and TiO2 nanoparticles in ethylene
glycol and water. For obtaining the desirability of the optimal design
for the geometry of the channel, the Response Surface Methodology
(RSM) was used. The results indicated that the particles Brownian
motion intensifies by increasing the nanoparticle concentration and
consequently, the difference between the wall temperature and coolant
decreases.
With regard to several factors that affect electronics cooling through
nanofluids, different artificial intelligence tools can be operative for
optimizing the relevant characteristics in this field. In general, in the
area of nanofluids, ordinary genetic algorithm, non-dominated sorting
genetic algorithm, smart bee algorithm, and particle swarm method
have been employed so far for optimization. In heat sinks working with
nanofluids, however, genetic algorithm has often been adopted, while
other abovementioned techniques can also be employed for optimiza-
tion in the future. Besides, the combination of genetic algorithm and
particle swarm method is recommended for optimization in this field to
minimize the time and effort. Other new optimization approaches in-
cluding ant colony algorithm, simulated annealing approach, bacterial
food algorithm, tabu search, game playing theory, and combination of
metaheuristic algorithms can be implemented for optimizing attributes
of nanofluids in liquid blocks.
7. Numerical approaches
There are several approaches to simulate the attributes of nano-
fluids. They are divided to two general classes, namely single-phase and
two-phase methods. These approaches are reviewed and discussed in
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
the following regarding their applications in electronics cooling.
7.1. Single-phase simulation
Because the dispersed particles in nanofluids are very small, it is
proposed that these particles might simply be fluidized and therefore,
with neglecting the relative movement between particles and base fluid,
and considering thermal equilibrium between the phases, many scho-
lars have assumed nanofluids as homogenous (single-phase) fluids. In
this method, the governing equations are similar to equations in or-
dinary (i.e. homogenous) fluids, while the apparent thermophysical
properties are employed in the simulations. This approach is simpler
than other methods, and needs less time for performing numerical runs,
and also, some scholars have stated that this approach presents results
close to the experimental data. As a result, this method has attracted the
attention of many academics, and some of them have adopted the
single-phase approach for simulation of nanofluid characteristics in
cooling of electronic chips.
Nebbati and Kadja [81] used a nanofluid in the microchannel liquid
block for cooling of electronic equipment. They implemented a single-
phase method in the simulation for studying the attributes of the wa-
ter–Al2O3 nanofluid. The outcomes revealed that the nanofluids can
result in an augmentation of Nusselt number, a temperature reduction
in the bottom surface and a slight reduction in the shear stress on the
wall compared with the water.
Korpys et al. [82] applied a commercial liquid block for cooling of
an electronic component. The copper oxide (II) nanofluid and pure
water were utilized. The authors simulated the characteristics of the
nanofluid by the single-phase method. The achieved results revealed
that the pure water is enough for the CPU cooling.
Bhattacharya et al. [83] adopted the conjugate heat transfer method
to investigate convection heat transfer attributes of the alumina–water
nanofluid through a silicon microchannel heat sink using the single-
phase approach. It was concluded that application of the nanofluid
enhances the microchannel heat sink performance with decreasing
conductive thermal resistance. Moreover, the performance enhance-
ment of heat sink owing to using the nanofluid was more significant
with increment of the nanoparticle concentration.
Lelea and Laza [84] carried out a study on application of the
Al2O3–water nanofluid in a micro liquid block with straight microtubes.
They implemented the single-phase approach for performing the si-
mulations. When the analysis was performed for constant Reynolds
numbers, the thermal features obtained in terms of maximum surface
temperature were better in the condition of employing the nanofluid
rather than the water. However, when the study was based on an in-
variant pumping power, the outcomes achieved on the basis of highest
temperature were very close to each other. In general, the nanofluid did
not reduce very much the surface temperature in comparison with the
base fluid.
As seen, although there is a rather proper agreement among the
results obtained from the single-phase approach and experimental data,
some contradictions are observed between the outcomes of different
researchers. For instance, Nebbati and Kadja [81] and Bhattacharya
et al. [83] reported significant improvements in the case of using na-
nofluids rather than the base fluids in electronics cooling. However,
some other investigators such as Lelea and Laza [84] and Korpys et al.
[82] showed that employing nanofluids in heat sinks do not cause no-
ticeable enhancements. These inconsistencies may be due to weak-
nesses of the single-phase approach in simulation. In fact, the single-
phase approach does not consider the important factors such as ther-
mophoresis, Brownian motion, and slip between phases. This concern
becomes very important particularly in applications in which an intense
flow mixing occurs.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
7.2. Two-phase simulation
Because many causes such as gravity, friction between base fluid
and nanoparticles, Brownian force, thermophoresis, dispersion and se-
dimentation exist in nanofluids, some scholars have attempted to apply
two-phase methods for nanofluids for achieving more accurate out-
comes. Two-phase approaches employed in the relevant literature can
be categorized into two approaches of Eulerian–Lagrangian and
Eulerian–Eulerian. In the studies carried out in the field of nanofluids,
scholars have used three different Eulerian–Eulerian methods, namely
Volume of Fluid (VOF), mixture, and Eulerian approaches. Most of the
investigators have mentioned that the two-phase methods present more
accurate findings compared with the single-phase approach. In this
regard, some scholars have employed two-phase approaches to simulate
attributes of nanofluids in different heat sinks for electronics cooling.
Keshavarz Moraveji and Mohammadi Ardehali [85] simulated
forced convection of the Al2O3 nanofluid in a liquid block by four dif-
ferent models including the single-phase, mixture, VOF and Eulerian
approaches. The difference between the results of the two-phase
methods was insignificant, while they presented more accurate results
compared with the empirical results than the single-phase approach.
Additionally, regarding the accuracy and CPU time, the mixture method
was selected to develop an equation to estimate the friction coefficient
and Nusselt number.
Kalteh et al. [86] investigated the convective heat transfer of the
water–Al2O3 nanofluid within a microchannel liquid block experimen-
tally and numerically. For the experimental work, a microchannel was
developed by use of a silicon wafer having glass layers. For the nu-
merical simulation, the two-phase Eulerian-Eulerian approach was
employed. Comparison of the results revealed that two-phase outcomes
have a superior consistency with experimental data than the homo-
genous (i.e. single-phase) method. In addition, the results obtained
from the two-phase simulation indicated that the differences between
velocity and temperature related to the two phases are insignificant.
Ghasemi et al. [87] investigated the influence of adding CuO na-
noparticles to pure water on heat dissipation from electronic compo-
nents. Both two-phase and single-phase approaches were utilized for
simulating the nanofluid flow. It was reported that the two-phase ap-
proach is more precise than the homogenous one. It was also observed
that the liquid block operated with the nanofluid possesses higher heat
exchange rate compared with that operated with the water.
In contrast to the single-phase approach, the results obtained from
two-phase methods in different research studies on application of na-
nofluids in liquid blocks possess proper agreement with each other.
Moreover, most of the researchers in this area have stated that the two-
phase methods lead to more accurate results than the homogenous
approach in comparison with experimental data. However, it should be
noted that greater run time is a shortcoming of two-phase approaches.
Therefore, due to superior accuracy the two-phase techniques, em-
ploying these methods is recommended in the future research on liquid
blocks considering optimum conditions in the simulations for decrease
of CPU usage and calculation volume.
One important challenge for examining the nanofluid influence on
the efficiency of heat transfer systems is problems in preparing nano-
fluids and rather great costs of synthesis. One interesting solution for
saving the time and decreasing the costs of experiments is to implement
soft computing approaches like Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to
estimate the performance of nanofluids, which can be implemented for
different cooling devices in electronics industry.
8. Cost comparison between different nanofluids used for
electronics cooling
For comprehensive evaluation of merit of using nanofluids in elec-
tronics cooling, a cost analysis is also necessary. In fact, a nanofluid
should improve the cooling performance with a rational cost. In the
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
area of employing nanofluids in cooling of electronic devices, very few
researchers have stated some points about cost and economic issues,
while no study has been performed based on analyzing costs in this
field. In a study on electronics cooling, Nazari et al. [10] mentioned
that adding more nanoparticles to the base liquid causes more costs and
nanofluid instability. Therefore, an optimal value of flow rate and vo-
lume concentration should be taken into account. Sun and Liu [88], in
their investigation on cooling of electronic processors by nanofluids and
liquid gallium, mentioned that gallium alloy is a good item for cooling
of CPUs, however, its great price is an important obstacle in applying
this material. As a result, it is vital to find a highly efficient and eco-
nomical refrigerant for CPU cooling. Hence, several scholars have
suggested nanofluids for utilization in this field. Colangelo et al. [89]
implied that the most utilized nanomaterial in nanofluids is alumina.
This is owing to its peculiar attributes based on thermophysical and
economic viewpoints. Indeed, this nanopowder is one of the cheapest
materials, and presents appropriate performance and stability. On the
other hand, Nazari et al. [10] stated that although the CNT nanofluid
enhances the heat transfer amount significantly, the costs for producing
and stabilizing CNT nanofluids are high. Therefore, selection of mate-
rial for nanoparticles is an important subject regarding the required
costs. However, based on the survey carried out by Alirezaie et al. [90],
use of nanofluids in electronics cooling is economically justified be-
cause a low volume of nanofluid is needed for this purpose.
In general, it seems that nanofluids possess a promising prospective
for new electronics cooling devices. Reducing working temperatures
and decreasing the size of cooling devices are chief benefits of em-
ploying nanofluids as coolant in electronics in comparison with or-
dinary liquids.
9. Some interesting topics about employing nanofluids in
electronics cooling
In the following, some fascinating areas on using nanofluids in
cooling of electronic equipment are introduced. They can be developed
significantly in the future for practical situations of this area.
9.1. Foam heat sink
Bayomy and Saghir [91] examined the heat transfer attributes of an
aluminum foam heat sink for cooling of an Intel core i7 processor (see
Fig. 16) by the alumina–water nanofluid. The experimental data in-
dicated that the Nusselt number enhances by 20% when the aluminum
foam is utilized in comparison with the empty channel. It was also
observed that at low concentrations, the nanofluid results in an im-
provement in both the local and mean Nusselt numbers.
Fig. 16. The aluminum foam heat sink for cooling of the Intel core i7 processor
[91]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456

9.2. Employing phase change materials along with nanofluids

Recently, PCMs regarding their great density for thermal energy

storage are significantly utilized in different cooling applications.
Indeed, PCMs possess a high potential to store large amounts of energy
in a smaller range of temperature compared with sensible thermal
storage materials. Accordingly, thanks to excellent features of PCMs,
some scholars have employed them together with nanofluids to cool the
electronic chips in relevant devices.
Chougule and Sahu [92] presented the thermal performance of the
nanofluid containing carbon nanotubes in a heat pipe with a PCM as
storage material of energy for electronics cooling. The adiabatic part of
heat pipe was covered with the PCM which was paraffin. The cooling
module with paraffin and heat pipe saved greater fan power con-
sumption in comparison with the one that employed only a heat pipe. In
addition, the thermal performance enhanced by increasing the con-
centration.
Ho et al. [93] conducted an experimental work to evaluate the
thermal performance of a minichannel liquid block using the alumina
nanofluid and/or microencapsulated phase change material (MEPCM)
particles. The wall temperature, Nusselt number and thermal resistance
were examined. A better effectiveness was perceived for the
Al2O3–water nanofluid relative to the hybrid suspension of MEPCM
particles and Al2O3 nanoparticles at greater Reynolds numbers.

9.3. Hybrid systems

Jeng and Teng [94] introduced a hybrid cooling system that com-
bined the benefits of a vapor compression refrigeration system (VCRS)
with a liquid cooling system. This system employed the hydrocarbon
refrigerant and alumina–water nanofluid as the coolant and VCRS
cooling for the electronic processor. The results showed that the highest
cooling capacities of the hybrid cooling system, liquid, and VCRS were
540 W, 450 W, and 270 W, respectively. Moreover, with use of the na-
nofluid rather than the water in liquid cooling system, higher heat re-
moval efficiency, larger power consumption in the water pump, and
less heater surface temperature were achieved. Fig. 17 displays the
structural diagram of the heating module and hybrid heat exchanger in
this work.
9.4. Self-powered systems
Bahiraei and Hangi [95] investigated hydraulic and thermal attri-
butes of a temperature-sensitive magnetic nanofluid in a toroidal loop
under a magnetic field. This system benefited permanent magnets and
the heat dissipated from an electronic chip to maintain the flow of
working fluid which transported the heat to a heat sink for dissipation.
Any further energy except the dissipated heat is not consumed to drive
the device. The heat flux leads to the fluid motion in the loop because
magnetization of the magnetic fluid is dependent on the temperature. It
was shown that the Nusselt number at the heat source part enhances
with increment of residual flux density of the permanent magnet and
with decrement of heat sink temperature. Fig. 18 shows the config-
uration under study as well as the flow induced by the magnetic field.
9.5. Vapor chamber
Vapor chamber is one highly efficient thermal dissipating system. Its
capability to spread great heat load densities in small spaces makes it an
appropriate candidate for electronics cooling. Putra et al. [96] ex-
amined the application of the Al2O3 nanofluid in a vapor chamber. The
nanofluid demonstrated superior thermal performance than the base
fluid owing to its great thermal conductivity. It was seen that the
greater concentration increases the heat transfer performance of vapor
chamber because the nanoparticles dispersed in the base fluid intensify
the stabilization of the nucleation course, rising the frequency of bubble
Fig. 17. Structural diagram of the hybrid heat exchanger and heating module
[94]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
release and enhancing the boiling process inside the evaporator.
9.6. Natural circulation loop
Ho et al. [97] studied the heat transfer features of the alumina–-
water nanofluid in a rectangular natural circulation loop having mini-
channel heat sink and heat source. The outcomes showed that the na-
nofluid can significantly increase the heat transfer performance of the
natural circulation loop. The mean heat transfer efficiencies at the
heating and cooling parts were almost 3.5–22% and 9.5–62%, respec-
tively. Fig. 19 displays the experimental setup used in this study.
9.7. Use of artificial neural networks
Artificial neural networks are implemented in different industrial
problems since their ability is promising and can be trained to learn
non-linear problems with the aid of input data. Additionally, with the
capability of learning different models, they can be employed instead of
intricate analytical methods and consequently, the time and volume of
calculations reduce noticeably with use of this tool. In the area of using
nanofluids in heat sinks, the studies conducted by neural networks are
very sparse.
Tafarroj et al. [98] employed an artificial neural network to model
the Nusselt number and heat transfer coefficient of the titania–water
nanofluid stream inside a microchannel liquid block. The concentra-
tion, heating rate, Reynolds number and model number were the inputs
of the model whereas the Nusselt number was the network output. It
was concluded that neural networks can be appropriate alternatives for
time consuming and expensive experimental tests in flow of nanofluids
within microchannel heat sinks.

452
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
Fig. 18. The configuration under study as well as the flow induced by the magnetic field [95]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
10. Concluding remarks
In this paper, the investigations carried out on application of na-
nofluids in electronics cooling were reviewed. Various aspects such as
liquid block geometry, nanoparticle material, numerical approach, and
second law of thermodynamics were considered. Most of the numerical
and experimental studies have indicated that nanofluids result in a
better thermal performance compared with conventional coolants in
terms of thermal resistance of heat sinks, average temperature of
heating surface, maximum temperature of heating surface, convective
heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number as well as the temperature
uniformity on surface of electronic processors. The directions for future
research as well as the challenges existing in this field are as below:
– Most of the studies have reported that nanofluids enhance the heat
transfer characteristics in electronics cooling, however, some of
them have argued that nanofluids have not a significant effect on
Fig. 19. The used experimental setup [97]. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
thermal performance of liquid blocks.
– Despite the rather extensive literature for single-phase modeling of
nanofluids in liquid blocks, there are few studies in this field using
the two-phase approaches.
– In contrast to the single-phase approach, the results obtained from
two-phase methods in different research studies on application of
nanofluids in liquid blocks show proper agreement with each other.
– Most of the researchers in this area have stated that the two-phase
methods lead to more accurate results than the single-phase ap-
proach.
– Greater run time is a shortcoming of two-phase approaches.
Therefore, due to superior accuracy the two-phase techniques, em-
ploying these methods is recommended in the future research on
liquid blocks considering optimum conditions in the simulations for
decrease of CPU usage and calculation volume.
– The continuum assumption and the applicability of the Navier-
Stokes equation in different liquid blocks for simulation of the flow
M. Bahiraei, S. Heshmatian
and heat transfer behavior of nanofluids in microchannel heat sinks
should be examined accurately by researchers.
– Because of the large number of models to predict thermophysical
properties of nanofluids, it is necessary to have a careful assessment
for selecting the optimal models for simulation in heat sinks.
– Since there are many causes influencing the heat transfer attributes
in liquid blocks, noticeable formula to predict heat transfer en-
hancement of nanofluids in them have not been developed.
– Agglomeration of nanoparticles is more important in electronics
cooling compared with other industrial sectors because of very
narrow size of channels.
– The thermal design of cooling devices for electronic processors
should be modified for use with nanofluids as coolant.
– Due to the significant effects of inclination angle and gravity, these
parameters should be considered in the future studies on heat pipes
for electronics cooling.
– The investigations on the thermosyphon boiling for nanofluids in
heat pipes are very sparse that should be regarded for performing
more accurate surveys.
– In the future, study of multiple jet impingements for electronics
cooling through nanofluids should be carried out for an in depth
understanding of governing mechanisms.
– Although double-layer heat sinks are widely utilized in different
applications with conventional fluids as the coolants, few in-
vestigations have researched the heat transfer enhancement in them
with use of nanofluids.
– The arrangement of two fluids is of importance for selection of the
fluid closer to the heating surface in double-layer liquid blocks,
which should be regarded carefully by the researchers in the future.
– In liquid blocks, employing mechanical pumps to move the liquids
can lead to some issues such as great energy consumption, unwanted
vibration of the moving parts and noise, and consequently, it can
decrease the reliability of the cooling device. Furthermore, thanks to
intricate components, the problem of maintenance should be con-
sidered by the scholars in this field.
– Since the temperature uniformity in conventional liquid blocks is
rather poor, they can be employed along with PCMs for improving
the thermal performance.
– Employing efficient distributers in inlet of liquid blocks is strongly
recommended to improve the temperature uniformity.
– Oxide nanoparticles such as alumina and titania nanoparticles have
been most utilized materials in nanofluids for electronics cooling.
– Carbon based nanofluids result in significant improvement in the
thermal performance of liquid blocks. However, an essential chal-
lenge of using them is their poor stability in aqueous media.
– Use of green and eco-friendly methods for functionalization of GNPs
is very important to avoid the health problems. The nanofluids
containing biologically produced GNPs can be suggested as appro-
priate candidates for utilization in electronics cooling.
– Very few studies have used MNFs in electronics cooling. More stu-
dies can result in the appropriate correlations among applied mag-
netic field, the ferrofluid flow and temperature distribution of MNFs
in liquid blocks. Ferrofluid research can cause a key breakthrough in
cooling of electronic components in the future.
– Using carbon based nanoparticles along with magnetic nanomater-
ials in a base liquid can be an appropriate option as hybrid nanofluid
for utilization in liquid blocks.
– It is recommended that in future investigations, the magnetoviscous
impact on thermomagnetic convection of ferrofluids is evaluated in
detail for heat sinks. The heat sinks that work on the basis of ther-
momagnetic phenomenon can possess significant potential in the
area of electronics cooling.
– Controlling the size and form of nanoparticles is an important
challenge in producing nanoparticles, particularly in practical ap-
plications such as employing nanofluids in liquid blocks, which can
affect the thermal performance considerably.
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Energy Conversion and Management 172 (2018) 438–456
– Some of the results reported by different researchers about pumping
power of nanofluids in heat sinks are rather inconsistent. Hence,
more experimental and numerical studies are needed to disclose the
behavior of nanofluids in liquid blocks in terms of pressure loss and
energy consumption.
– Investigating local entropy generation rates for flow of nanofluids in
heat sinks is proposed as an interesting topic for the future research.
It can result in an optimal utilization of liquid blocks in electronics
cooling.
– With regard to several factors that affect electronics cooling through
nanofluids, different artificial intelligence tools can be operative for
optimizing the relevant characteristics in this field.
– New optimization approaches including ant colony algorithm, si-
mulated annealing approach, bacterial food algorithm, tabu search,
game playing theory, and combination of metaheuristic algorithms
can be implemented for optimizing attributes of nanofluids in liquid
blocks.
Finally, considering the abovementioned points can result in a
thorough evaluation of liquid blocks operated with nanofluids, which
simplifies reaching optimal commercial designs.
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