Staggered Needle Fin Microchannel

Excellent overall heat transfer

A microchannel heat sink combining staggered needle fins and groove-cut ribs improves heat transfer while maintaining low flow resistance by optimizing needle fin spacing, offering a new thermal management solution for high-heat-flux electronics.

Lv, Li · Haoxin, Zhuang · Qian, Lijuan

International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer 2026

Specifications

Nusselt number enhancement

{'zh': '161', 'en': '161'} %

Nusselt number enhancement

{'zh': '56.8', 'en': '56.8'} %

Nusselt number enhancement

{'zh': '13.8', 'en': '13.8'} %

Darcy friction factor reduction

{'zh': '2–5.4', 'en': '2–5.4'} %

Overall heat transfer evaluation index

{'zh': '1.6346–1.6611', 'en': '1.6346–1.6611'}

Advantages

Lower flow resistance

The Darcy friction factor of Case 4 is reduced by 2%–5.4% compared to Case 3, indicating that the composite structure achieves enhanced heat transfer without increasing flow resistance, a favorable trade-off for pump-power-sensitive systems.

Stable thermal regulation at high heat flux

At q=8×10⁵ W/m², Case 4 still exhibits a relatively low bottom wall temperature and a milder temperature rise along the flow direction, promoting temperature uniformity in electronic devices.

Applications

• Microchannel heat sink design：Provides optimized geometry and spacing for staggered needle fins and groove-cut ribs to guide high-heat-flux microchannel design.
• Chip thermal management：Maintains lower wall temperature and uniform temperature rise under high heat flux, suitable for chip hotspot spreading.
• High-heat-flux electronics：Effectively controls temperature at 8×10⁵ W/m², addressing sustained high heat dissipation in power electronics.