Heat and Mass Transfer

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02574-5

ORIGINAL

Analysis of natural convection in heat sink using OpenFOAM

and experimental tests
Vilson Altair da Silva 1 & Lorenzo Alfonso Caliari de Neves Gomes 1 & Ana Lúcia Fernandes de Lima e Silva 1 &
Sandro Metrevelle Marcondes de Lima e Silva 1

Received: 2 August 2018 / Accepted: 22 January 2019

# Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
A transient three-dimensional natural convection problem in heat sinks with rectangular fins positioned horizontally was studied
using the software OpenFOAM (Open Field Operation and Manipulation). OpenFOAM is based on the Finite Volume Method
for the discretization of the governing equations and was used to solve the three-dimensional equations of continuity, momentum
and energy. These computational simulations were done with the PIMPLE solution algorithm for decoupling the equations. The
NusseltCalc tool was used in the post-processing to obtain Nusselt number. The results of Nusselt number, temperature, velocity
and vorticity fields were obtained. The temperature results were also obtained by numerical probes and compared with exper-
imental and analytical results; presenting differences lower than 0.7%. The results of the average Nusselt number, Nu, and the
average heat transfer coefficient by convection, h, numerically obtained with OpenFOAM were compared with the experimental
and with those obtained from empirical correlation. All these results obtained with OpenFOAM presented good accordance with
experiments and literature with differences lower than 10%. Uncertainty analyses were also carried out in order to prove the
quality of the results and they presented differences lower than 5%. In addition, a Nusselt number correlation is proposed for
Rayleight number in the range of 4.6 × 104 < Ra < 5.8 × 105.

1 Introduction exchangers and microprocessors can be cited as widely

A heat sink is a set of extended surfaces, or fins, from an
area where an efficient heat transfer to the environment is
desired. This apparatus is commonly used in several
pieces of equipment to increase the rate of heat transfer.
In general, they have to be installed in small places and
therefore must be small. Motors, transformers, heat
* Sandro Metrevelle Marcondes de Lima e Silva
metrevel@unifei.edu.br
Vilson Altair da Silva
altairvilson@gmail.com
Lorenzo Alfonso Caliari de Neves Gomes
gomeslorenzo@gmail.com
Ana Lúcia Fernandes de Lima e Silva
alfsilva@unifei.edu.br
1
Heat Transfer Laboratory – LabTC, Institute of Mechanical
Engineering – IEM, Federal University of Itajubá – UNIFEI, Campus
Prof. José Rodrigues Seabra, Av. BPS, 1303,
Itajubá, MG 37500-903, Brazil
studied applications.
A heat sink subjected to natural convection is frequently
used due to its lower cost and availability. With the average
convection heat transfer coefficient, h, it is possible to calcu-
late the rate of dissipated heat and then evaluate the best con-
figuration of the heat sink. That coefficient is a property that
depends on a number of parameters including the fluid flow
conditions and the geometry. Its values can be found by
resorting to experiments, numerical solutions and empirical
correlations.
This theme has been studied since the 1940’s [1],
and there are several studies about the different aspects
of free convection in heat sinks with rectangular fins.
Experimental tests and new methodologies have been
developed.
The evolution of computers and numerical techniques
have improved simulation results making them cheaper,
faster, and with better approximation to experimental re-
sults. The experimental tests consist of heating the base of
the heat sink and measuring the temperature on the heat
sink as well as in the environment. These are used to vali-
date the results of the simulations.

Starner and McManus [2] studied experimentally the
steady-state natural convective heat transfers from rectangular
vertical fin arrays. It was concluded that the configuration with
vertical fins on a vertical base is the most favorable to achieve
high heat transfer rates to the surrounding air.
A quantitative measurement of the natural convection heat
transfer from large horizontally based straight rectangular fin
arrays using Mach-Zender interferometry was performed [3].
In this work experimental data was correlated best by an ex-
pression proposed earlier by Elenbaas [4].
The effects of spacing, length, thickness, and material of
fins on the natural convection heat transfer of fin arrays were
systematically studied by Leung and his co-workers [5–10].
Sobhan et al. [11] used the technique of differential inter-
ferometry and experiments were carried out under steady state
conditions. Local values of heat flux, temperature, heat trans-
fer coefficients, local and overall Nusselt numbers were esti-
mated. Correlations were presented relating the overall
Nusselt number with the relevant non-dimensional parameters
in these cases.
An experimental investigation of the interaction of free
convection and radiation in a horizontal fin array was carried
out [12]. Similar to Sobhan et al. [11], a differential interfer-
ometer was used to obtain free convection heat transfer and
radiation was calculated by solving the integro-differential
equations numerically.
Harahap and Setio [13] generalized measured data of
References [1, 2] and experimental data of their own, by ap-
plying the non-dimensional parameters proposed by Leung
and Probert [9]. The results showed considerable scatter when
compared with the Leung and Probert correlation [10] for
short-protrusion rectangular heat exchanger fins with the base
oriented horizontally.
Tari and Mehrtash [14] carried out numerical simulations
changing the heat sink position to investigate the Nusselt num-
ber for different Rayleigh numbers. The simulations were
done for several inclination angles by varying the direction
of gravitational acceleration. The authors proposed correla-
tions for the Nusselt number, considering the angle from the
base surface in relation to a horizontal surface for two ranges
of a modified Rayleigh Number. Combined with the proposed
correlations, the streamlines were presented as a result of the
simulations. This helps to understand what happens in the heat
sinks during the heat exchange with the environment.
The software FLUENT® was used by Kim et al. [15] to
study the characteristics of the outflow and the heat transfer in
vertically positioned heat sinks. The authors concluded that
optimization of the space between fins depends on their
length, on the difference between the temperature of the heat
sink and the environment and on the fluid properties. It was
observed that the height of the fins does not have a great
contribution to this optimization. The correlation proposed
by these authors used a wider range of Rayleigh number and
Heat Mass Transfer
was considered more accurate than some correlations previ-
ously proposed.
Heat sinks are widely used to improve the performance of
LED applications, decreasing the temperature in these sys-
tems. This theme was studied by Shen et al. [16] whose ex-
perimental bench tested a heat sink in eight different positions,
starting from 0° to 180° with an interval of 45°, with the base
of the heat sink and its fins in vertical position. For 225°, 270°
and 315°, the heat sink was tested with the fins in horizontal
position. These tests showed that the worst case was the one
where the heat sink was at an angle of 270° and the angles of
225° and 315° presented better performance, especially 315°.
The computational results showed that the mismatch between
the heat transfer area and the natural convection flow and the
blockage of the convection flow are the two dominant factors
that harm heat transfer in the rectangular fin heat sinks.
Ong et al. [17] studied the thermal heat spreading effects
and determination of the thermal heat spreading resistance.
The performance of two conventional heat sinks with flat
metal base and an array of cooling fins on top are determined
under forced and natural convection and with various heating
power input. Their simulations show that the temperature dis-
tribution on the heat sink is not uniform and therefore, heat
transfer is inefficient. The behavior of the thermal heat spread-
ing is almost imperceptible when the heat sink is under forced
convection action.
Following the recent trends of using metal foam heat sinks
and advancement in manufacturing technologies, Al-Athel
[18] performed an experimental and computational analysis
of this new device. First, a set of metal foam heat sink exper-
iments were performed by varying various factors (assembly
method, fin position, number of fins, and forced convection
air velocity). Secondly, a μ-CT scan is used to develop an
accurate 3D representation of the metal foam fins used in the
heat sinks. The computational model was calibrated and val-
idated against the experiments that were performed in the first
part of the work. The third and last were the main parts of this
work, in which the calibrated metal foam heat sink 3D com-
putational model was used to run the different cases in order to
perform a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the ther-
mal behavior by looking into the efficiency, effectiveness, heat
transfer coefficient, and thermal resistance.
The heat sinks used in this work were machined from a
single 6063-T5 aluminum bar to ensure the high value of the
thermal conductivity. The values of the geometric parameters
made each heat sink different and unique in relation to litera-
ture. The material of the fins must present high thermal con-
ductivity because it has great influence on the heat transfer rate
once it directly affects the temperature distribution along the
extended surface. The optimal configuration would occur if
the thermal conductivity of the fin was infinite, thus the tem-
perature along the fin would be the same as the base, provid-
ing a maximum rate of heat transfer.
Heat Mass Transfer

One of the objectives of the present work is to propose a & Dirichlet boundary condition: a constant uniform temper-
Nusselt number correlation that satisfies a specific range of ature is applied to the honeycomb pattern area (the base of
Rayleigh number. The principal contribution and novelty of the heat sink). The value used in the simulations for this
this work is to perform numerical analyses by using condition was obtained experimentally;
OpenFoam to obtain h and Nu. The values of h and Nu ob- & Newmann boundary condition: applied to the isolated sur-
tained with the use of OpenFOAM are compared with exper- faces (the sides of the heat sink base);
imental results as well as with an empirical correlation from
literature. These comparisons showed that the method pro- The initial condition for the temperature is:
posed in this work, the literature correlation [19], and the
experimental tests have good approximation, so the results Tðx; y; z; 0Þ ¼ T1 ð2Þ
were properly validated. The use of OpenFOAM for the nu-
merical resolutions of physical phenomenon investigated here where T1 is the room temperature.
should be highlighted. OpenFOAM allows adjusting any
boundary conditions, as well as modeling the geometry so as 2.2 Modeling the fluid medium
to faithfully represent the system investigated. Besides,
OpenFOAM can be used to obtain h and Nu values in exper- Considering a compressible flow, the mass conservation equa-
imentally difficult conditions such as inclined plate-finned tion can be written as:
heat sinks and micro heat sinks.
∂ρ 
!
þ ∇∙ ρ U ¼ 0 ð3Þ
∂t
2 Theoretical basis
!
where ρ is the density of the air and U the velocity vector.
In this work, the problem studied is a metal plate subjected to By disregarding the viscous dissipation and the internal
heat transfer by conduction and natural convection. Therefore, energy generation, the energy equation is as follows:
the equations of mass conservation, momentum and energy
must be solved. These groups of equations were numerically
∂T ∂T ∂T ∂T
solved by the software OpenFOAM through the solver þu þv þw ¼ α∇2 T ð4Þ
chtMultiRegionFoam. The mathematical modelings of the ∂t ∂x ∂y ∂z
solid and fluid domains are presented below. where u, v, and w are the components of the velocity vector

!
U and α is the thermal diffusivity.
2.1 Modeling the solid medium
The air was considered a Newtonian fluid with constant
viscosity. The momentum equation can be written as:
The heat flux determination in a section of the solid medium is
only possible when the temperature gradient along this medi-
!
!!
um is known. This temperature gradient can be obtained by
!
g − ∇ p þ ∇ :!
¼ ρ!
dU
applying an energy balance in an appropriate differential con- ρ τ ð5Þ
dt
trol volume.
The thermophysical properties of the heat sink were con- where:
sidered constant; the heat diffusion equation can be expressed
as:  
!
! !! !!T 2 ! ! ! !
τ ¼μ ∇Uþ ∇U − μ ∇ :U I ð6Þ
3
∂2 T ∂2 T ∂2 T 1 ∂T
þ þ ¼ ð1Þ !
!
∂x2 ∂y2 ∂z2 α ∂t where I is the Identity matrix, μ.is the dynamic viscosity and
!
!
where T is the temperature; x, y and z the unit vectors; α the τ the viscous stress tensor.
thermal diffusivity and t the time. Continuity, momentum and energy equations were solved
Equation (1) is solved to determine the temperature distri- by using the Finite Volume method and the solution algorithm
bution in the heat sink by using the proper boundary condi- PIMPLE, a combination of algorithms (Pressure Implicit with
tions. Figure 1 shows the dimensions of the heat sink and its Splitting of Operator) and SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method
different regions. for Pressure-Linked Equations). For time discretization, the
The boundary conditions presented in Fig. 1 can be implicit Euler method was chosen, which is the standard
expressed as: method adopted by OpenFOAM for transient regime.
 Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 1 Different regions and

geometric parameters of the heat
sink

The heating of the fluid happens by heat exchange by free q}

convection with the heat sink. Environmental temperature T1
was imposed to all side surfaces and to the top of the domain,
this condition is represented in Fig. 2. A closed domain as Tari
and Mehrtash [14] was considered, so the boundary condi-
tions for the velocity are null on all surfaces. The pressure
on all surfaces, represented in Fig. 2, was considered constant
and equal to the atmospheric pressure. The domain in the
present work as used in Tari and Mehrtash [14] was
600 mm3. The domain is about 43 times bigger than the heat
sink height while the length and width are six times the re-
spective dimensions of the heat sink. Moreover, many com-
putational tests were performed in relation to the size of the
domain to achieve good results of heat sink and fluid temper-
atures, Nusselt number and streamlines.
The mesh used in all simulations has approximately six
million hexahedral elements. This mesh was chosen after
conducting a mesh refinement test, summarized in Table 1
and presented in Fig. 3. This test was carried out after the
steady state was reached.
2.3 Nusselt number calculation in OpenFOAM
h¼ ð7Þ
ðT hot −T ∞ Þ
where h is the average heat transfer coefficient calculated by
NusseltCalc tool, q^ is the heat transfer flux between the
heatsink and the fluid medium obtained from OpenFOAM
simulation, Thot is the numerical temperature closer to the
position of the experimental temperature T4 and T∞ = T1
(Fig. 4a). The average Nusselt number was then calculated by:
l
Nu ¼ h∙ ð8Þ
k
where and l = L/2 and k is the thermal conductivity of the air.
2.4 Empirical correlation from literature
The empirical correlation proposed by Harahap and Rudianto
[19] to describe natural convection in horizontal finned rect-
angular heat sinks is also used to validate the methodology.
This correlation uses Rayleigh number and dimensionless
geometric parameters (Fig. 1) to calculate the Nusselt number.
Thus, Nusselt number can be calculated as follows:

The numerical Nusselt number was obtained through the   0:393  0:470  0:870  0:620
nS S H L
NusseltCalc tool. This tool was developed by Magnusson Nu ¼ 0:203∙ Ra ∙ ∙ ∙
[20] to calculate the Nusselt number in a buoyancy driven H l l W
flow according to: ð9Þ
Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 2 Boundary conditions for

temperature, velocity and
pressure

where Ra is a Rayleigh number and l = L/2. Raylegh number T4 and T5 were attached by capacitive discharge [21] to the
and the heat transfer coefficient may be calculated, center of the heat sink: T4 on the top of central fin and T5 to
respectively the base of the central fin. Thermocouple T3 was inserted
directly into the heater to reduce the thermal contact resistance
and T2 was used to measure the part of the heat lost by con-
Ra ¼ Gr:Pr ð10Þ duction through the MDF while T1 measures room tempera-
Nu∙k ture. The thermocouple positions were determined by experi-
h¼ ð11Þ
l mental tests. The procedure analyzed the heat distribution and
the best place to put the thermocouples. The position of the
where Gr is the Grashof number and Pr is the Prandt number.
thermocouples did not measure significant changes in temper-
ature, thus thermocouples T4 and T5 were attached in the
center of the heat sink.
3 Experimental assembly Figure 1 and Table 2 show the geometric parameters that
made each heat sink different and unique. All these heat sinks,
The experimental apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4a was devel- from H1 to H12, were used for the experimental tests and to
oped at LabTC at the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI). develop the Nusselt number correlation proposed, but only
The heat sink was assembled on a resistive heater and both Heat Sink 1 (H1) and Heat Sink 2 (H2) were used for the
placed on a wood support as shown in Fig. 4b. The sidewalls numerical simulations. In order to perform a detailed study
of the support were isolated with glass wool to minimize heat
of the influence of the geometrical parameters in h, three
exchange between the support and the heat sink. Additionally,
levels of variation of H, two of S and t were studied in order
a medium density fiberboard (MDF) was used to isolate the
to analyze how variations of h increase and decrease the other
bottom of the heater to avoid buckling and to keep the heater
parameters (Table 2).
in good contact with the base of the heat sink. Thermocouples
The resistive kapton heater has a resistance of 23.2 Ω and
dimensions of 99.5 × 99.5 × 0.2 mm3. The resistive kapton
Table 1 Mesh refinement test heater was used for its thinness, allowing for faster overall
warming. Carollo et al. [22] presented a study of the contact
Mesh Elements Temperature Simulation Time
resistance using the same resistive heater. This study on the
I – 220x220xx80 3.5 Millions 310.8 K 24 h contact resistance displays the influence of the Kapton layer
II – 2060x260x90 6 Millions 315.61 K 80 h on the resistive heater and took into account the influence of
III – 300x300x90 8 Millions 315.60 K 144 h the thermal contact resistance and the numerical and experi-
mental temperature errors. The contact resistance found is too
 Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 3 View of the computational

mesh: a whole domain, b heat
sink closer view and c enlarged
view of the fins

small, showing the good quality of the experiment. The heater,
bearing a type T thermocouple inside, consists of a very thin
electrical resistance which can withstand temperatures up to
150 °C. This thermocouple is more reliable once it reduces the
contact resistance between the heater and the sample as well as
the heater and the MDF isolation. Professor Saulo Güths
manufactured this resistive heater at Laboratório de Meios
Porosos e Propriedades Termofisicas (LMPT) in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Federal
University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). The heater is connected
to a power source Instrutemp ST-II-305D DC with digital
current and voltage display. The twelve heat sinks with differ-
ent geometrical parameters and the same base were machined
from a homogeneous 6063-T5 aluminum bar at the
Machining Laboratory at UNIFEI. This aluminum was chosen
due to its wide use in heat sinks and the fact of presenting high
thermal conductivity and low density, which are essential
characteristics for heat sinks. Another important factor was
its affinity with the capacitive discharge welding, a process
used to attach the thermocouples directly to the heat sinks.
Five type T thermocouples were used in the assembly. The
capacitive discharge welding [21] was used because it reduces
the contact resistance between the thermocouple and the heat
sink. The thermocouples were connected to a data acquisition
system, Agilent 34980A, controlled by a computer that filed
the temperature data. The arrangement of the heat sink is
shown in Fig. 4c. This assembly reduces heat loss through
the bottom surface of the heater because it uses pressure to
minimize the loss by contact and does not restrict the air flow
around the peripheral fins.
3.1 Obtaining the experimental h
To obtain the experimental values of h, Newton’s cooling law
was used, given as:
q
h ¼ ð12Þ
At ðT s −T ∞ Þ
where At is the total surface area of the heatsink in contact with
the fluid, q is the heat transfer rate by convection, Ts is the
average of temperatures T5 and T4 (Fig. 4).
3.2 Heat transfer rate by convection
The calculus of the heat transfer rate lost by convection was
performed as follows
q¼P−qiso ð13Þ
where q is the difference between the heat transfer rate pro-
vided by the heater and lost by conduction through the insu-
lator, qiso. For the calculation of the heater power P, the power
Heat Mass Transfer

Table 3 Temperature values used in the simulations

CASE T1 [K] T5 [K] ΔT [K]

HEAT SINK 1 A 295.94 304.30 8.36

B 296.29 310.92 14.63
C 295.63 322.07 26.44
D 297.16 348.32 51.16
E 295.45 369.26 73.81
HEAT SINK 2 F 296.84 304.92 8.09
G 294.77 319.45 24.68
H 293.55 330.27 36.72
I 295.68 343.59 47.91
J 296.07 363.28 67.22

dissipated by the heater wire which is connected to the power

supply should be disregarded, therefore the calculation of P is
done by Eq. (14).

ðV−Rwire ∙I Þ2
P¼ ð14Þ
Rh

where V is the voltage, I is the current, Rwire is the heater

wire resistance and Rh is the heater resistance. The cal-
culation of qiso is done with Fourier’s Law, as shown
below:

ΔT iso T 3−T 2
qiso ¼ k iso :As ¼ k iso :As ð15Þ
LMDF LMDF

where kiso is the thermal conductivity of the MDF isolation, As

Fig. 4 Experimental Apparatus: a test bench, b details of the heat sink is the MDF surface in contact with the heater and LMDF is the
and c heat sink assembly MDF thickness.

Table 2 Dimensions of the heat sinks

Heatsink S [mm] t [mm] H [mm] L [mm] W [mm] b [mm] n Act [m2]

Fin Spacing Thickness Height Length Width Base Plate Number Total Area
Thickness of Fins of Convection

H1 14,35 2,00 14,00 100,00 100,10 4,00 7 0,0300

H2 5,55 2,00 14,00 100,00 100,15 4,00 14 0,0500
H3 14,35 2,00 20,00 100,00 100,10 4,00 7 0,0386
H4 5,55 2,00 20,00 100,00 100,15 4,00 14 0,0671
H5 14,35 2,00 7,00 100,00 100,10 4,00 7 0,0200
H6 5,55 2,00 7,00 100,00 100,15 4,00 14 0,0300
H7 12,00 4,00 7,00 100,00 100,00 4,00 7 0,0202
H8 3,15 2,00 7,00 100,00 99,85 4,00 20 0,0385
H9 3,15 2,00 20,00 100,00 99,85 4,00 20 0,0916
H10 12,00 4,00 20,00 100,00 99,85 4,00 7 0,0391
H11 3,15 2,00 14,00 100,00 99,85 4,00 20 0,0671
H12 12,00 4,00 14,00 100,00 99,85 4,00 7 0,0304
 Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 5 Temperature field for each

case of Heat Sink 1: a global view
and b enlarged view
Heat Mass Transfer

3.3 Empirical correlation
A correlation was performed by using the five cases of heat
power obtained experimentally and the 12 Heat Sinks present-
ed in Table 2. Values of Nusselt and Rayleigh as well as
independent dimensionless variables (S/L, H/L, t/L and n)
were provided to the software LAB fit [23]. This software
furnishes the fitting that the equation of correlation must have,
and following this fitting and the characteristics that the equa-
tion must have, LAB fit calculates its exponents and constants.
The heat transfer coefficient by convection, h may be calcu-
lated by using this correlation shown in Eq. (16), to obtain
values of Nusselt Number.
 −0:567  −0:0169  −1:068
l S H t
Nu ¼ 0:086∙Ra0:266 ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙n−1:580
L L L L
where l is the characteristic length and L is the effective length.
Equation (16) is valid for the range 4.6 × 104 < Ra < 5.8 × 105.
4 Results
All the cases were simulated in a computer with a 3.40 GHz
CPU and 16.0 GB RAM through a virtual machine with a
UBUNTU 64 bits operational system. It was also observed
that the closed domain did not affect the heat exchange be-
tween the heat sink and the fluid once the recirculation formed
returned to the heat sink with the initial temperature.
The five cases of heat power were studied for Heat Sink 1.
Room temperature T1 and temperature on the base of the
central fin T5, measured for each one of the cases studied
are shown in Table 3. The power input, supplied by the heater,
was increased to enable the study of greater Nusselt and
Rayleigh number ranges. The same methodology was used
for Heat Sink 2.
The upward flow of natural convection generated by the
heating of Heat sink 1 base is shown in Fig. 5. The heat is
conducted to the whole heat sink and exchanged with the
fluid. Thus a variation in the specific mass of the fluid results
in different magnitudes of the buoyancy force, forming up-
ward flow structures. Figure 5 shows the temperature field in
whole domain. Figure 5a present the entire domain and
Fig. 5b a closer view. For these cases, the images were built
in different times, because it was the moment in which they
achieved the steady state.
Figure 5 shows the uniformity and symmetry of the tem-
perature fields in the domain. The fluid temperature is high
near the heat sink and it decreases as it moves away from the
heat sink. It may be noted that the higher the temperature of
the heat sink, the larger the area of the domain that suffers
ð16Þ temperature increase. Figure 5 shows that the higher the tem-
perature on the base of the heat sink the greater the tempera-
ture gradient on the fluid.
In order to validate the numerical results, Table 4 presents a
comparison of experimental, numerical and analytical temper-
atures on the tip of the fin after the steady state was reached.
The percent deviations (Difference) between the numerical
and experimental temperatures are also presented and are low-
er than 0.7% (Table 4). It is observed that the numerical tem-
peratures are close to the analytical values.
For the temperature numerically obtained, a comparison
between Heat Sink 1 and 2 can be done by analyzing Fig. 6
where the two images show the temperature fields for cases D
and I at a specific time (Table 3). These cases were chosen due
to their approximate power supply values.
The differences between the temperature fields of the fluid
on the heat sinks may be observed in Fig. 6. For Case I, the
temperature flow is higher near the heat sink due to the differ-
ent number of fins and also small fin spacing. The thermal
plume for Case I has a linear upward direction. In Case D,
the larger fin spacing increases the convection flow between
the fins decreasing the temperature near the heat sink.

Table 4 Experimental, numerical

and analytical temperatures CASE T4 Experimental T4 Numerical T4 Analitical Difference
[K] [K] [K] [%]

HEAT SINK 1 A 303.86 304.30 304.28 0.15

B 310.03 310.92 310.89 0.29
C 320.96 322.07 322.00 0.35
D 347.39 348.32 348.14 0.27
E 366.97 369.26 368.97 0.45
HEAT SINK 2 F 303.38 304.92 304.91 0.62
G 320.02 319.45 319.41 0.18
H 331.38 330.27 330.19 0.34
I 342.47 343.59 343.49 0.33
J 360.86 363.28 363.12 0.67

Fig. 6 Instantaneous temperature
field for a Case D (Heat sink 1)
and b Case I (Heat sink 2)
In Fig. 7, the instantaneous density field of Case D is
presented. The behavior presented in this figure is due to
the decrease in density when the air is heated. The value
of the density of air at room temperature was ρ = 1.17 kg/
m3. There is a decrease of 15% in the density of the air
between the fins, which made the air ascend in this re-
gion. This difference in the specific mass is larger for
higher temperatures.
The Z-component fields of velocity are shown for cases A,
B, C, D and E in Fig. 8. This figure shows an upward flow
with apparent symmetry and relatively low velocity. For Cases
A and B, the flow resulting from the increase in temperature of
the fluid reaches low speeds and does not travel throughout
the domain whereas for the other cases, with higher tempera-
tures, this flow reaches higher speeds and goes further in the
domain. Then, the higher the temperature imposed on the heat
sink base the greater the value of the Z component of the
velocity reached by the resulting flow.
Fig. 7 Density field of Case D in
yz plane for t = 5 s
Heat Mass Transfer
Figure 9 shows the streamlines for five instants of time of
the simulation where it is possible to observe the formation of
recirculation near the heat sink. The recirculation disappears
as time progresses and a new recirculation that involves the
entire domain rises until it reaches the steady state.
Figure 10 shows the vorticity field for Case D (Heat sink
with 7 fins). Due to the presence of the fins it shows pairs of
positive and negative signals of component x of vorticity,
which indicate the way that the fluid tends to rotate.
Figure 10 also shows secondary vortices on the edges of
the fins that are advected in accordance with the primary
vortices in the edges of the heat sink. For Case D, the
distance between the fins is enough to create two separate
counter-rotating vortices. When the number of fins in-
creases, for the same width of the heat sink (Case I for
example), these vortices are supressed and there is a higher
flow resistance, thereby reducing the convection heat trans-
fer of the heat sink.
Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 8 Velocity fields for Cases

A, B, C, D and E: a global view
and b enlarged view

Fig. 9 Temporal evolutiocn of the
streamlines for Case D
To obtain the experimental values of h; the heat transfer rate
by convection, q, was used (Eq. 12). Figure 11 presents the
comparison of h and Nusselt number values for Heat Sinks 1
and 2 with the literature. The values obtained numerically and
experimentally are close to the literature values. A good agree-
ment can also be seen between the numerical results of h and
Nusselt number values when comparing with the experimental
results. In the majority of the cases presented in Fig. 11, for
Heat Sinks 1 and 2, the differences are lower than 10%.
Heat Mass Transfer
The fields of local Nusselt number for cases D (Heat
sink 1) and I (Heat sink 2) are shown in Fig. 12. Nusselt
number values are higher on the border of the fins close to
the spaces where the difference of temperature between the
heat sink and the fluid is higher. The values gradually de-
crease along the fin to the center and a more perceptible
effect can be seen in Heat Sink 2. Consequently, the values
of the heat exchange by convection are also higher in the
red region in Fig. 12.
Heat Mass Transfer
Fig. 10 Vorticity fields for Case
D for t = 5 s: a global view and b
enlarged view
Figure 13 shows that after 4 s of simulation, the average
Nusselt number becomes constant, which proves once
more that the steady state was reached. Another interesting
analysis observed is that the two curves have similar
behaviors.
Figure 14 presents a comparison of Nusselt Number ob-
tained by using OpenFOAM with the one from Eq. (14) and
the one from the correlation proposed by Harahap and
Rudianto [19]. In order to facilitate the view of this com-
parison, these values were presented in log x log scale
graphics.
The comparison shows that the difference of the nu-
merical and experimental results for Nusselt number is
lower than 10% for the majority of cases studied. One
observation is that the points out of the lines of 10% have
Rayleigh number near the limits of the range validated in
the Eq. (16). Nevertheless, even with few points going
beyond the line of 10%, the numerical results and the
values obtained with Eq. (16) showed good results and
the use of OpenFOAM proved to be a good tool to study
this kind of problems.
Fig. 11 Comparison between experimental, numerical and literature results for Heat sinks 1 and 2: a average Nusselt number and b h
5 Uncertainty analyses
In this work, an analysis of the uncertainties of the experimen-
tal results described in section 3 and another of the numerical
study described in section 2 were made. The existing uncer-
tainties of the experimental process are inherent to measure-
ments performed, such as the resolution of the equipment
used, measurement techniques, standard reference values,
among others. Thus, the uncertainty that accompanies the ex-
perimental results is the sum of the partial uncertainties of the
acquisition system, the temperature measurement instrument
and the instruments used to measure the current and the elec-
trical voltage supplied to the heater besides its electrical resis-
tance. One should also count the uncertainties of dimensional
measurements of heat sinks, where the value of the lowest
resolution of the pachymeter used, which is 0.05 mm, was
used. The uncertainties of constants kisol and kair adopted null
values because they are values taken from tables. The uncer-
tainty of the experimental Nusselt number can be obtained by
Eq. 17, following the theory of linear propagation of errors
[22].
 Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 12 Local Nusselt number for a Heat sink 1 (Case D) and b Heat sink 2 (Case I)

 2  2  2 q
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2 ffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
∂N u ∂N u ∂N u UT ¼ U aquis þ ðU therm Þ2 ¼ 0:012 þ 0:12 ¼ 0:1005
U Nu 2
¼ UV þ U Rwire þ U Rh
∂V ∂Rwire ∂Rh
 2  2  2 ð18Þ
∂N u ∂N u ∂N u
þ UI þ U k isol þ U U As
∂I ∂k isol ∂As
 2  2  2 The uncertainties related to the numerical simulations
∂N u ∂N u ∂N u
þ U T2 þ U T3 þ U LM D F are inherent to the uncertainty of the software
∂T 2 ∂T 3 ∂LM D F
 2  2 OpenFOAM as well as the experimental uncertainties of
∂N u ∂N u
þ Uk þ U l ¼ 0:178 ð17Þ temperature data used for the simulations. The uncertainty
∂k ∂l of the computational results obtained through the simula-
tion is the sum of UT and the uncertainty of the software
Some equations to obtain the experimental Nusselt number
OpenFOAM (UOF). The uncertainty of the OpenFOAM
were omitted once a detailed study on these equations can be
was calculated by the highest difference between the ex-
found in Anselmo [21].
perimental and numerically calculated temperature
The measured temperature uncertainties are calculated by
(Table 4). Thus, Eq. (19) presents how this uncertainty is
taking into account the uncertainty of the data acquisition
calculated.
(Uaquis), given by its digital increase in the value of 0.01 °C.
For the uncertainty of the thermocouple (Utherm), an oscilla-
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
tion of 0.1 °C was adopted as reference [22]. So, the equation
U sim ¼ U 2T þ U 2O F ¼ 0:10052 þ 0:672 ¼ 0:121 ð19Þ
for calculating the temperature uncertainty is given by:

Fig. 13 Time evolution of the

average Nusselt number for Heat
sink 1 and 2 in Case D
Heat Mass Transfer

Fig. 14 Comparison of Nusselt numbers obtained numerically, experimentally and from literature a Heat Sink 1 b Heat Sink 2

Table 5 shows the results of the experimental and numeri-
cal uncertainties in percentage for the all cases studied in this
work and the experimental and numerical values of Nusselt
number obtained. As it may be seen, the uncertainty value is in
accordance with that found in literature presenting values low-
er than 5%.
6 Conclusion
The propagation of the heat is consistent with the move-
ment of the fluid. The recirculation of air in the heat sink,
caused by the use of a closed domain, had little influence
on the numerical temperature values since they showed
good agreement with experimental temperature values,
lower than 0.7%.
The heat sink with 7 fins and 14.35 mm fin spacing had the
lowest flow blockage between the fins and therefore the
highest Nusselt and h values.
The numerical values of Nusselt number also showed good
agreement when compared with the values obtained with the
correlation proposed in the present work and also with the
values obtained from the empirical correlation from literature.
It can be said that the numerical results displayed a good
approximation with Equation (14) and with the empirical cor-
relation from literature [19]. The numerical values of h were
also closer to the experimental ones, with an average deviation
lower than 8%. When compared to the literature values, the
numerical values showed a mean deviation lower than 10%.
Noteworthy is the fact that the numerical and experimental
values of h were close in the cases with higher temperatures,
with the lowest deviation being around 0.6%.
The OpenFOAM software proved to be a reliable tool in
the study of the free convection in heat sinks and stands out as
an important research tool since it is free and open sourced.
The use of software like OpenFOAM will be a good tool
principally for the study of inclined plate-finned heat sinks
and micro heat sinks.

Table 5 Experimental and

numerical uncertainties Nusselt Number Uncertanties (%)

Numerical Experimental Numerical Experimental

Heat Sink 1 Case A 6.54 8.12 1.85 2.19

Case B 8.26 9.00 1.46 1.98
Case C 10.03 10.40 1.21 1.71
Case D 12.41 11.93 0.97 1.49
Case E 13.99 13.29 0.86 1.34
Heat Sink 2 Case F 3.52 4.18 3.44 4.25
Case G 5.60 5.55 2.16 3.21
Case H 6.56 6.56 1.84 2.71
Case I 7.21 6.72 1.68 2.65
Case J 8.14 7.74 1.49 2.30

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank CNPq, CAPES and
FAPEMIG for their financial support.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. The
founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection,
analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in
the decision to publish the results.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdic-
tional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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