Experimental Study of the Cooling Efficiency of a Heat Sink under Different Fan Configurations: Effects of Fan Speed, Fan–Heat-Sink Spacing, and Fan Orientation
Athukorala Dona, Madumalie (2026)
2026
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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202602253360
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202602253360
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Efficient thermal management is critical for reliable electronic operation and forced-convection heat-sink performance is highly sensitive to airflow configuration. This study experimentally investigates the effects of fan speed, fan–heat-sink spacing, and fan orientation on the cooling performance of a heat-sink under forced convection. A Taguchi L16 (4³) orthogonal array was employed to evaluate fan speed at 4.8 V, 7.2 V, 9.6 V, and 12 V; fan–heat-sink spacing at 20 mm, 30 mm, 40 mm, and 50 mm; and fan orientation angles of 0°, 10°, 20°, and 30°. A push–pull fan arrangement was used, and the heat sink was heated to 65 °C for all tests, which were repeated to ensure repeatability and data consistency.
The cooling performance was assessed using the cooling-curve behaviour, steady-state temperature, time to reach steady state, and thermal resistance. Temperature–time data were recorded at 1 Hz using K-type thermocouples and an Amprobe TMD-56 multilogger.
The cooling performance was analysed using signal-to-noise ratio analysis and univariate ANOVA, with statistical significance evaluated at the 95% confidence level. The results show that fan orientation has a statistically significant effect on steady-state temperature (p = 0.049), while fan speed is the dominant factor controlling the time required to reach steady state (p = 0.001), followed by fan orientation (p = 0.008). Fan–heat-sink spacing exhibited a minor influence within the investigated range. The thermal-resistance analysis, based on a constant average heat input of 15.45 W, supported these trends.
The confirmation tests validated the optimisation results identified by the signal-to-noise ratio analysis. The temperature-optimal configuration (A4–B3–C1) achieved a steady-state temperature of 21.4 °C, while the time-optimal configuration (A4–B1–C1) reached steady-state conditions in 186 s. The comparison with Taguchi additive-model predictions showed percentage differences of 8.03% for steady-state temperature and 6.80% for steady-state time, indicating acceptable agreement.
Overall, fan orientation and fan speed are key determinants of the forced-convection heat-sink cooling, and the applied experimental and statistical framework enables robust performance optimisation.
The cooling performance was assessed using the cooling-curve behaviour, steady-state temperature, time to reach steady state, and thermal resistance. Temperature–time data were recorded at 1 Hz using K-type thermocouples and an Amprobe TMD-56 multilogger.
The cooling performance was analysed using signal-to-noise ratio analysis and univariate ANOVA, with statistical significance evaluated at the 95% confidence level. The results show that fan orientation has a statistically significant effect on steady-state temperature (p = 0.049), while fan speed is the dominant factor controlling the time required to reach steady state (p = 0.001), followed by fan orientation (p = 0.008). Fan–heat-sink spacing exhibited a minor influence within the investigated range. The thermal-resistance analysis, based on a constant average heat input of 15.45 W, supported these trends.
The confirmation tests validated the optimisation results identified by the signal-to-noise ratio analysis. The temperature-optimal configuration (A4–B3–C1) achieved a steady-state temperature of 21.4 °C, while the time-optimal configuration (A4–B1–C1) reached steady-state conditions in 186 s. The comparison with Taguchi additive-model predictions showed percentage differences of 8.03% for steady-state temperature and 6.80% for steady-state time, indicating acceptable agreement.
Overall, fan orientation and fan speed are key determinants of the forced-convection heat-sink cooling, and the applied experimental and statistical framework enables robust performance optimisation.