International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78 (2014) 522526

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International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhmt

Technical Note

Nusselt number correlation for vibration-assisted convection from

vertically oriented plate ns
Kuen Tae Park 1, Jin Woo Lee 2, Moon Gu Lee 3, Hyun Jung Kim 4, Dong-Kwon Kim
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 443-749, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 24 December 2013
Received in revised form 1 June 2014
Accepted 3 July 2014
Available online 30 July 2014
Keywords:
Nusselt number
Vibration-assisted convection
Plate n
Heat sink

a b s t r a c t
We propose a correlation for estimating the Nusselt number for vibration-assisted convection from vertically oriented plate ns. For this purpose, extensive experimental investigations were performed for
various amplitudes and frequencies of forced vibrations. The experimental data indicate that the Nusselt
number of a vibrating n, normalized to its value for a stationary n, is strongly affected by the ratio of
the vibration speed and the velocity of the buoyancy-driven ow. Based on this nding, we proposed a
correlation applicable to velocity ratios of 020 and vibration frequencies of 2959 Hz.
2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Recent advances in semiconductor technology have led to a signicant increase in the power density in microelectronic systems
[1,2]. However, the performance and reliability of an electronic
device are adversely affected by the increase in the junction temperature resulting from such high power densities. Therefore, an
effective cooling technology is essential for improving the reliability of electronic components [3,4]. Several cooling methods have
been proposed. Among these, fan-integrated heat sinks are the
most widely used, owing to their high performance-to-price ratio.
A fan-integrated heat sink consists of two parts: a fan module for
pumping the coolant and a heat sink for increasing the heat-transfer area. Accordingly, signicant research has been devoted to
studying heat sinks and cooling fans.
However, fan-integrated heat sinks do not utilize the total cooling space optimally because the spaces occupied by the heat sink
and by the fan module are kept separate for different purposes:
the former only serves to dissipate heat, whereas the latter serves
to pump the coolant. Therefore, these two parts are regarded as

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 31 219 3660; fax: +82 31 219 1611.
E-mail addresses: emeraldmine@ajou.ac.kr (K.T. Park), jinwoolee@ajou.ac.kr
(J.W. Lee), moongulee@ajou.ac.kr (M.G. Lee), hyunkim@ajou.ac.kr (H.J. Kim),
dkim@ajou.ac.kr (D.-K. Kim).
1
Tel.: +82 31 219 2350; fax: +82 31 219 1611.
2
Tel.: +82 31 219 3659; fax: +82 31 219 1611.
3
Tel.: +82 31 219 2338; fax: +82 31 219 1611.
4
Tel.: +82 31 219 2340; fax: +82 31 219 1611.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2014.07.015
0017-9310/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

inviolable spaces with respect to each other. Thus, if the entire

space reserved for the cooling system were to be used for both
coolant pumping and heat transfer, the thermal performance
would be enhanced. This idea has driven the development of novel
cooling systems such as the scroll heat sink [5], centrifugal heat
sink [6], heat sink with piezoelectric vibrating fan [710], and heat
sink with vibrating ns [11,12]. In particular, for some cooling
applications with a low form factor (i.e., handheld devices), the
space, power, and noise requirements of small rotational fans or
small blowers in fan-integrated heat sinks may not be satised
[13,14]. As a result, vibrating fans and ns have emerged as a
promising cooling technology for the thermal management of
low-power electronic devices, owing to their low power consumption, minimal noise emission, and small and congurable dimensions [15]. It has been demonstrated that power consumption in
vibrating fans and ns can be an order of magnitude smaller than
conventional axial fans and blowers, for the same cooling performance and size [14].
In a heat sink with vibrating ns, the cooling ns are vibrated to
generate coolant ow without the need for additional fan blades.
Because the cooling ns are used for both coolant pumping and
heat dissipation, both of these effects occur effectively and simultaneously in the entire cooling space. Several studies have focused
on heat sinks with vibrating ns. Park and Kim demonstrated a
heat sink with vibrating ns driven by piezoelectric actuators
and found that its thermal performance is maximized when the
ns are vibrated at their resonant frequencies [11]. In addition,
they showed that the thermal performance was more than twice
better than that of an optimized natural convective heat sink.

K.T. Park et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78 (2014) 522526

523

Nomenclature
Af
d
f
g
h
kf
L
NuW
NuW;X0
Pr
q
Rth
RaW

n surface area [m2]

gap width [m]
frequency of forced vibrations (resonant frequency) [Hz]
acceleration due to gravity [m s2]
heat transfer coefcient [W m2 K1]
uid thermal conductivity [W m1 K1]
n length [m]
Nusselt number for a vibrating n
Nusselt number for a stationary n
Prandtl number
heat input [W]
thermal resistance [K W1]
gb T T
W 3
Rayleigh number RaW f wmf aamb
f

Our group previously conducted proof-of-concept experiments on

individual isolated vibrating ns. We concluded that the maximum
thermal performance was achieved at the resonant frequency and
that the vibration amplitude had a dominant effect on the
enhancement of the thermal performance, whereas the base temperature did not have a strong inuence [12].
To the best of our knowledge, there have been no experimental
investigations of the Nusselt number in the context of vibrationassisted convection from vertically oriented plate ns. The absence
of such studies to date possibly results from previous experimental
studies focusing on the proof of concept for heat-transfer enhancement by vibrating ns. Therefore, no general correlation exists
from which to obtain the Nusselt number, and the thermal resistance cannot be determined quantitatively. The goal of the present
study was to propose a Nusselt number correlation for estimating
the thermal performance of the vibration-assisted convection from
vertically oriented plate ns. We focused not on the n array but
rather on individual isolated vibrating ns. To suggest a Nusselt
number correlation, we conducted extensive experiments at various vibration amplitudes and frequencies.

2. Experimental investigation
The thermal resistance of the ns was measured to nd a Nusselt number correlation. Schematic diagrams and a photograph of
the experimental setup are shown in Fig. 1. The ns were made
of aluminum alloy 5052 (ks = 138 W/m K) and the n dimensions
are listed in Table 1. For each n, a lm heater was attached to
the base of the n. A thermal interface material (TC 5080; Dow
Corning) was used to reduce the contact thermal resistance
between the n base and the heater. Then, the n base was sandwiched between 30-mm-thick acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene
supporting blocks to minimize heat loss from the upper and lower
sides of the n base. Electrical power was supplied to the heater
from a power supply (OPT-303; ODA Technologies). The power
was set prior to the experiment to maintain a temperature difference of 30 C between the n base and the surroundings for the
stationary n. To measure the base temperature, a T-type thermocouple was attached to the n base. To induce vibrations in the
ns, the signal generated by a Dynamic Signal Analyzer (35670A;
Agilent) was fed into a shaker (K2004E01; Modal Shop Inc.) that
then stimulated the n module. Superposed images of a vibrating
n are shown in Fig. 2. In this gure, the displacement amplitude
at the end of the n is denoted by X. The vibration amplitude
was measured using the CCD Laser Displacement Sensor (LK-081;
Keyence) and was acquired using the Dynamic Signal Analyzer. A
data-acquisition unit (34970A DAQ; Agilent Technology) was used
to acquire the signals from the thermocouple and convert them

Tamb
Tb
t
Vvib
V X0
W
X

ambient temperature [K]

base temperature [K]
n thickness [m]
vibration speed [m s1]
velocity of buoyancy-driven ow [m s1]
n width [m]
vibration amplitude [m]
thermal diffusivity of the uid [m2 s1]
volume-expansion coefcient of the uid [K1]
n efciency
kinematic viscosity of the uid [m2 s1]

af
bf

g
mf

into temperature data. The base temperature was determined once

the temperature remained stationary within 0.1 C over a period
of 2 min. The experiments were performed in an isolated and quiescent room. An uncertainty analysis yielded the experimental
errors, as described in Appendix A.
3. Results and discussion
First, the auto-power spectrum of the vibrating ns in the
absence of any heat supply was measured by feeding a random signal into the shaker. The lowest dominant peak frequency in each
auto-power spectrum in Fig. 3 is the rst natural frequency for that
n. The thermal performance of the vibrating ns is maximized by
making the frequency of forced vibrations coincide with this frequency, henceforth called the resonant frequency [11,12]. The resonant frequencies for the four tested ns are listed in Table 1.
Next, the thermal resistance of one particular vibrating n was
measured at a xed input power for various imposed vibration frequencies (Fig. 4). The thermal resistance was calculated from the
measured base temperature (Tb), ambient temperature (Tamb),
and heat input (q) as follows:

Rth 

T b  T amb
:
q

Fig. 4 shows a dip in the thermal resistance at the resonant frequency. This local minimum is due to the vibration amplitude
being maximized at this frequency. Another dip is apparent at
the second natural frequency because the vibration amplitude
was also maximized there. However, the second natural frequency
is within the range of audible frequencies, i.e., greater than 100 Hz
for 25 dB, and cannot therefore ensure a silent operation [13,14].
Therefore, vibrations were imposed at the resonant frequency in
subsequent measurements.
Then, the thermal resistance values of the four tested ns, each
forced to vibrate at their resonant frequency, were measured
(Fig. 5). On the basis of the n model, the thermal resistance can
be expressed as

Rth

ghAf

gNuW kf Af

where g, h, Af, and NuW are the n efciency, heat transfer coefcient, surface area, and Nusselt number, respectively. Therefore,
once the thermal resistance was obtained from the experimental
data, the Nusselt number was calculated from Eqs. (1) and (2) and
normalized with respect to the Nusselt number NuW;X0 of the stationary n. As shown in Fig. 6(a), the Nusselt number increases as
the vibration amplitude X increases. According to Ref. [16], the
heat-transfer enhancement caused by the vibration depends on

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K.T. Park et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78 (2014) 522526
Table 1
Geometrical congurations and resonant frequencies of the tested ns.

Heat
sink 1
Heat
sink 2
Heat
sink 3
Heat
sink 4

Length L
[mm]

Width W
[mm]

Thickness t
[mm]

Resonant frequency
f [Hz]

80

20

0.4

50

80

20

0.5

59

100

25

0.4

29

100

25

0.5

40

(a) Exploded-view schematic of the experimental setup

Fig. 2. Superposed images of the vibrating n.

(b) Schematic experimental setup

10

L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.4mm

L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.5mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.4mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.5mm

fn=29 Hz
40 Hz
50 Hz
59 Hz

-1

10

Amplitude

-2

10

-3

10

-4

10

-5

10

(c) Photograph of the experimental setup

20

40

60

Fig. 1. Experimental setup.

the ratio of the vibration speed Vvib and the velocity of the buoyancy-driven ow V X0 of the stationary n:



NuW
V v ib
:
m
NuW;X0
V X0

V X0 

af W
d2T;X0

af
W

Nu2W;X0 ;

100

120

140

160

180

200

Fig. 3. The auto-power spectrum of vibrating ns of different dimensions (The rst

natural frequencies are denoted by fn).

NuW m
3

The order of magnitude of Vvib and V X0 are given as

V v ib  2p f X;

80

Frequency (Hz)

2pfXW

af Nu2W;X0

respectively, where dT;X0 is the thermal boundary-layer thickness

for the stationary n. Eq. (5) is obtained from the scale analysis presented in Ref. [17]. By combining Eqs. (3)(5), the functional form of
the Nusselt number correlation is determined to be

NuW;X0 :

The Nusselt number correlation determined in the case of the

natural convection from an isolated vertical n provides a suitable
estimate for the Nusselt number of the stationary n in Eq. (6) [18]:

NuW;X0 0:68
5

1=4
0:670 RaW

1 0:492=Pr9=16

4=9

The function m in Eq. (6) reects the heat-transfer enhancement

caused by the disturbance of the boundary layer. Therefore, m
should approach 1 as X decreases and monotonically increase as
X increases. In the present study, the expression for m that best
matched the experimental data was found to be:

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K.T. Park et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78 (2014) 522526
First natural frequency
(Resonant frequency)

Second natural frequency

1.6

15

10

Amplitude(mm)

3
20

NuW / NuW,X=0

25

Thermal Resistance (K/W)

Experimental data
L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.4mm
L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.5mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.4mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.5mm

1.8

30

+10%

Correlation

-10%

1.4

1.2

1.0

1
5

0.8
0

0
20

30

40

170

180

at

various

10

15

(a) Normalized Nusselt numbers for various velocity ratios

vibration

frequencies

(L = 100 mm,

1.6

+10%

1.4

35

L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.4mm

L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.5mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.4mm
L=100mm, W=25mm, t=0.5mm

1.2

NuW / NuW,X=0

30
25

Rth (K /W)

20

2fXW/(f(NuW,X=0) )

Frequency (Hz)
Fig. 4. Thermal resistance
W = 25 mm, t = 0.4 mm).

190

20

-10%

1.0

Exprimental data
L=80mm, W=20mm, t=0.4mm

0.8
Correlation
0.6
0.4

15
0.2

10

0.0
8000

12000

RaW

16000

20000

(b) Normalized Nusselt numbers for various temperature differences

0
0

Fig. 6. Nusselt numbers normalized to their value for a stationary n.

X (mm)
Fig. 5. Thermal resistance of ns vibrating at the resonant frequency, as a function
of the vibration amplitude.

2pfXW

af Nu2W;X0

1 0:0315

2pfXW

af Nu2W;X0

Finally, we have:

1=4

NuW 0:68

0:670RaW

4=9

10:492=Pr9=16

0:03152pfXW

1=4
0:670RaW
af 0:68
9=16
10:492=Pr

:

4=9

9
The Nusselt number correlation in Eq. (9) is also shown in
Fig. 6(a) as a solid line and is in good agreement with the experimental data, with the discrepancy between the two being less than
10%. The present correlation is valid for frequencies in the range
29 < f < 59 Hz
and for
velocity ratios in the
range
pfXW
0 < a 2Nu
< 20, the ranges for which the experimental data were
2
f

W;X0

obtained. In addition, Fig. 6(b) shows the normalized Nusselt number, at a xed vibration amplitude, for a range of temperature differences. These results indicate a good consistency between the
correlation and the experimental data when the Rayleigh number
is between 8000 and 20,000, and show that the normalized Nusselt
number decreases as the temperature difference increases.

The present study focused on individual isolated vibrating ns.

However, a real application can involve an array of ns. In such an
array, the above correlation applies only when the heat transfer
from the n is unaffected by the presence of another n. This condition is satised when the thermal boundary-layer thickness is
signicantly smaller than the n-to-n spacing. For a small spacing, the boundary layers developing on opposing surfaces eventually merge, and the heat transfer from one n is thereby inuenced
by the presence of its neighbor. To estimate the applicability range
of the above Nusselt number correlation in an array conguration,
the vibrating n was placed between two insulating plates, and the
thermal resistance was measured for various gap widths d
between the n and the plate (Fig. 7 inset). The results are plotted
in Fig. 7. The thermal resistance is not strongly inuenced by the
gap width when d/X > 5, because the boundary layer developing
on the n does not make contact with the plates. This therefore
suggests that the correlation applies to an array conguration
when the ratio of the n spacing to the vibration amplitude is
greater than 5. Investigating the regime d/X < 5 requires experiments and analyses that are beyond the scope of the present work.

4. Conclusions
We proposed an empirical correlation for estimating the
Nusselt number for vibration-assisted convection from vertically

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K.T. Park et al. / International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 78 (2014) 522526

U Rth

 Rth


2 !1=2
@Rth
Uq
@q

2  2 !1=2
UT
Uq

;
T b  T amb
q

@Rth
UT
@T b  T amb

2

A4

where Uq is the uncertainty in the heat-transfer rate measurement.

In the present study, the second term on the right-hand-side is negligible compared to the rst term. The calculated values for U Rth are
shown as the vertical error bars in Fig. 5.
Similarly, the uncertainty in the vibration-amplitude
measurement, UX, is


1=2
U X B2X P2X
;

A5

where BX and PX are, respectively, the bias error and precision error
in the vibration-amplitude measurement. According to the manufacturers specications,
Fig. 7. Thermal resistances for various ratios of the gap width to the vibration
amplitude (L = 100 mm, W = 25 mm, t = 0.4 mm).

oriented plate ns, based on the fact that the normalized Nusselt
number (the Nusselt number of a vibrating n divided by its value
when stationary) is strongly affected by the ratio of the vibration
speed to the velocity of the buoyancy-driven ow. We expect the
proposed correlations to serve as useful contributions for the thermal design of heat sinks with vibrating ns and to provide valuable
insight into the principles of thermal design.
Conict of interest
None declared.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Nano Material Technology
Development Program through the National Research Foundation
of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future
Planning (NRF-2011-0030285).
Appendix A. Uncertainty analysis
This uncertainty analysis is similar to that described in Ref. [19].
The precision error in the temperature measurement PT is
determined by

ST
PT t95%;m p ;
Ndata

A1

where t95%,v, ST, m, and Ndata are the t distribution for a condence
level of 95%, standard deviation of the temperature, degree of freedom, and number of data points, respectively [20]. The instrument
error in the temperature measurement is expressed by the bias
error BT according to the manufacturers specication as

BT 0:5  C:

A2

The uncertainty in the temperature measurement, UT, is then

given by


1=2
U T B2T P2T
:

A3

The uncertainty in the thermal-resistance measurement, U Rth , is

given by

BX 3 lm:

A6

The calculated values for UX are shown as the horizontal error

bars in Fig. 5.
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