Thermally-induced evaluation of interfacial shear stress in finned metal foam heat sink

Abstract

Heat sink has become the most commonly used hardware for cooling microelectronic packages. Ordinary heat sink typically comprises of a heat sink base, on which a number of fins are attached. To improve the performance of the ordinary heat sink, metal foam is placed in between the fins (Bhattacharya, 2002). The foam has to have a good thermal property in order to help dissipate the heat. Examples of such heat sink with metal foam placed in between the fins are shown in Figure 4.1. To ensure good mechanical contact, thermal adhesive material is applied at the interface between the fins and the metal foam.