Numerical investigation on heat transfer enhancement using ionic wind in a perforated micro-pin fin heat sink

Overheating of the electronic components is a major cause of device failure. Heat sinks are used to mitigate this issue which relies on the thermodynamics of conduction, convection, and radiation. Further, the heat transfer ability of heatsinks can be increased by adding fins in heat sinks, increasing the overall surface area for convection and radiation. In this modern era of miniaturization, the micro pin fins (MPFs) heatsink can be one of the solutions for enhancing heat transfer in such small-scale devices. Recently, researchers have demonstrated that using perforated MPFs enhances the heat transfer performance compared to the solid micro pin-fins due to the larger surface area to volume ratio. To further increase the performance, ionic wind generated by corona discharges has received much attention because it has distinct advantages over traditional methods. This work aims to examine the electrode configuration study to determine the effect of longitudinal electrode arrangement with a different number on the heat transfer enhancement through numerical simulation and multi-physical characteristics, including the discharge process and charged particle movements. The multi-physics simulations incorporate the interplay between the flow physics and electrodynamics of charged particles.