Cooling a central processing unit by installing a mini channel and flowing nanofluid, and investigating economic efficiency

CPUs are widely used in many industries. These components require electrical energy for processing and generating heat due to their electrical resistance. On the other hand, they have a very high heat flux due to their small size and high energy consumption. Therefore, their cooling with new methods helps their performance a lot. In this study, water flow with Nano-encapsulated phase change material (NPCM) was simulated to cool an embedded CPU inside a mini channel. These NPCMs have a significant effect on heat transfer parameters due to their ability to phase change in their core. On the other hand, examining the exert economy broadens our horizons to choose an appropriate system in practical problem engineering. Numerical simulation by the FVM method was utilized to study the effects of Reynolds numbers, heat flux of CPU's surface, and volume fraction on the temperature distribution, the maximum temperature of CPU's surface, and economic efficiency. Evidence showed that increasing Reynolds number from 50 to 100 at zero volume fraction reduces the maximum temperature of the CPU's surface from 98.4to82.5°C. Also, mixing a 3% volume fraction of NPCM with pure water can decrease the maximum temperature of the CPU's surface by 2.27°C relative to pure water. Moreover, rising Reynolds number from 50 to 100 enhanced the net profit per unit transferred heat load (ηp) by 100 times.