Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997
DOI 10.1007/s00231-017-2045-0
ORIGINAL
Smoothing effect of the thermal interface material on the
temperature distribution in a stepwise varying width
microchannel cooling device
Sara Riera1 · Jérôme Barrau1   · Joan I. Rosell1 · Luc G. Fréchette2 ·
Mohamed Omri3 · Montse Vilarrubí1 · Gerard Laguna1 
Received: 28 November 2016 / Accepted: 27 March 2017 / Published online: 10 April 2017
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2017
Abstract The impact of the thermal interface mate-
rial (TIM) layer on the performance of a stepwise vary-
ing width microchannel cooling device is analysed. A
numerical model shows that the TIM layer, besides its well
known negative impact on the temperature, also gener-
ates a smoothing effect on the temperature distribution. In
this study, an analytical model is used to define a nondi-
mensional parameter, called Smoothing Resistance ratio,
as the quotient between the origin of the temperature non
uniformities and the TIM thermal resistance that flatten the
temperature distribution. The relationship between the tem-
perature uniformity of the cooled device, expressed through
the temperature standard deviation, and the Smoothing
Resistance ratio is shown to be linear. These results lead
to the definition of a new design procedure for this kind
of cooling device, which aims to reduce the Smoothing
Resistance ratio. Two solutions are identified and their
drawbacks are analysed.
1 Introduction
As the need to dissipate high heat fluxes from high con-
centration photovoltaic receivers or other electronic
* Jérôme Barrau
jerome.barrau@udl.cat
1
Applied Physics Section of the Environmental Science
Department, University of Lleida, C/Pere Cabrera s/n,
25001 Lleida, Spain
2 The potential of TIMs with anisotropic thermal conductiv-
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université de
Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. Université, Sherbrooke,
QC J1K 2R1, Canada
3
Deanship of Scientific Research, King Abdul Aziz University,
P.O. Box 80230, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
components increases, the use of efficient and reliable cool-
ing systems becomes crucial to the overall performance
of those components. The main objective in the design of
heat sinks for high heat flux removal is to reach the follow-
ing conditions: low thermal resistance coefficient and high
temperature uniformity [1, 2]. A low thermal resistance is
needed to maintain an acceptable operating temperature,
and temperature uniformity is also a key requirement to
preserve the reliability and/or efficiency of the system
[3]. Jet impingement and microchannels have a good heat
extraction capacity but generate large temperature non uni-
formities along the flow path [4].
The performance of these cooling devices are affected
by the high thermal resistance in the interfaces such as
those between the heated components and heat sinks.
Thermal interface materials (TIM), such as thermal adhe-
sives and greases, are used to minimize the contact ther-
mal resistance between those surfaces. The reduction of
the temperature drop across the TIM between the heat sink
and the heat source becomes more important as heat flux
increases [5, 6].
Another consideration in the use of a TIM layer is their
heat spreading effect [7]. This question is not so widely
studied by researchers. Collin et al. [8] present a method-
ology and experimental test apparatus for a precise meas-
urement of the thermal resistance and also characterisation
of heat spreading in the case of concentrated photovoltaic
cell receivers. They showed that the spreading performance
depends not only on material and thicknesses, but also on
configuration.
ity to mitigate hotspots or locally high temperatures is stud-
ied by Bachmann and Bar-Cohen [9]. The authors establish
a conductivity ratio, kxy/kz, relating the in-plane thermal con-
ductivity and the thermal conductivity normal to that plane.
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2988
An increase of this ratio leads to a consequent decrease in
the overall thermal resistance, and thus a decrease in the
average hotspot temperature. That leads to state that solv-
ing hotspot issues via an orthotropic spreader depends on the
ability of the spreader to conduct heat laterally from local
regions of high heat flux to other areas with lower thermal
loads. Results show that by increasing the in-plane conduc-
tivity of an orthotropic spreader with kz  = 5 W/m K, hot
spot temperatures can decrease by 9.3 and 14.3 K below
the peak temperature reached with the isotropic spreader (kz
= kxy = 5 W/m K) for in-plane conductivities of 350 and
1800 W/m K, respectively. The relatively high lateral con-
ductivities allow the heat to spread over a larger area before
crossing the TIM, reducing its effective thermal resistance.
This effect was also found to be beneficial in cooling of 3D
microelectronic assemblies, where increasing the silicon
chip thickness allows further heat spreading from the hot
spots, hence reducing the effective thermal resistance of the
assembly, even if it leads to a thicker stack [8].
In previous works, Barrau et al. validated experimen-
tally [10] and numerically [11] a hybrid jet impingement/
microchannel cooling device at milliscale with the capacity
to decrease the temperature of the cooled object along the
flow path. Riera et al. [12] improved this device by scal-
ing it at microscale. They studied a heat sink with a step-
wise varying width microchannel design with the objec-
tives of keeping low the thermal resistance of the cooling
device while improving the temperature uniformity of the
cooled object. This pattern is obtained by tailoring the slot
jet width [13] and the microchannel sections widths in the
way the heat extraction capacity rises along the flow path in
order to compensate the coolant temperature increase in the
same direction. A numerical model [12], validated through
comparison with experimental measurements, was used
to assess the temperature uniformity, the thermal resist-
ance coefficient and the impact of the implementation of
an isotropic TIM between the cooling device and the heat
source on the overall performance of the cooling device.
The results showed that the TIM causes, as expected, an
increase of the thermal resistance coefficient and, as a
consequence, of the temperature of the cooled object, but
also an improvement of the temperature uniformity. As the
objective of the cooling device is to provide high tempera-
ture uniformity while keeping the temperature in the oper-
ating range, the benefits of the TIM layer in terms of tem-
perature uniformity must be balanced by the inconvenient
of the higher average temperature. So, the design procedure
should also take into account the TIM layer effect.
In this study, the impact of the TIM layer on the over-
all performance of the cooling device is analysed. A two-
dimensional thermal model allows defining a nondimen-
sional parameter that compares the effects that origin the
temperature non uniformities with the smoothing effect
13
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997
of the TIM layer. The dependence of the temperature
uniformity to this parameter is analysed for several sec-
tions of the stepwise varying width microchannel device.
Finally, a new design procedure is defined and two pos-
sible solutions are identified and balanced.
2 System description and previous results
The cooling device object of this study is based on step-
wise-varying width microchannel sections. Jet impinge-
ments and microchannels demonstrated their high heat
extraction capacity, but their major drawback is the nonu-
niform temperature patterns that they generate.
In this stepwise varying width microchannel cool-
ing device, the fluid enters through the slot jet located
in the symmetry plane of the heat sink and travels along
the channels to leave the heat sink at its extremities. The
fluid flows through a series of microchannels with vari-
able width along the flow path. As the fluid heats up, the
channel diameter decreases to consequently decrease the
convective thermal resistance (Fig. 1).
The design of the cooling device includes two symmet-
ric patterns of microchannels with different widths along
the path (Fig. 2). The z axis origin is at the bottom surface
of the cooling device, at the interface with the upper side
of the TIM. There are five sections of microchannels, var-
ying their width (wi, i = 1 to 5) from 1.53 mm to 140 μm
along the flow direction. This pattern has been etched in
silicon by lithography and Deep Reactive-Ion Etching
(DRIE).
The experimental test module is composed by the
coolant distributor, the slot plate, the cooling device, a
copper layer that allows measurement of the temperature
distribution and the ceramic heater (Fig. 3).
The coolant is introduced to the heat sink through a
slot on the middle zone of the cooling device, symmetri-
cal about y axis and also x axis. Water flow is divided into
two and passes through the microchannel sections until
the two opposite outlets of the heat sink. A thin layer of
TIM (measured at microscope: eTIM  = 50 μm, ±5 μm),
seals the cooling device to the copper layer located just
on the heat flux source.
The heat flux (q″  = 50 W/cm2), generated by a
ceramic heater, is applied at the bottom of the copper
Conventional microchannels Stepwise varying width microchannels
T T Twall
Twall
T varies
Tfluid
Tfluid
T = cst x x
Fig. 1  Concept analysis for stepwise varying width microchannels
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997 2989

b
y

x
0

Fig. 2  Cooling device. a Dimensions in mm, b photography

layer. The TIM used is a metal oxide filled silicone oil

paste, which thermal conductivity has been experimen-
tally measured (Heat Sink Compound Plus RS217-3835,
kTIM  = 0.82 W/m K).
Cooling device In a previous study [12], a CFD model, which had been
Outlet
Coolant distributor previously validated through comparison with experimen-
Inlet
Outlet tal results, gave the different temperature distribution along
Copper layer with Slot plate the fluid path ­(Tx) in centrelines of the cooling device (y
TC’s placement
= 0 mm) at several depths (z) of the cooling device. These
results are presented here for fixed values of the inlet fluid
temperature (Tf,in), the heat flux (q″) and the coolant flow
Ceramic Heater rate (Q) (Fig. 4). As exposed in a previous study [12], the
flow is laminar for the flow rates considered.
The thermal resistances of the TIM layer and, in a lower
Fig. 3  Exploded view of the test module manner, of the copper layer, increases the total thermal

13

2990 Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997

Fig. 4  Temperature distri- 80
bution in centrelines of the
cooling device (conditions: Tf,in copper layer
= 21.7 °C; q″ = 50 W/cm2; z=0 mm
Q = 8.8 × 10−6 ­m3/s) [12] 70
z=-0.025 mm

TIM layer z=-0.05 mm

Tx (ºC)
60
z=-0.45 mm

z=-0.85 mm

50
z=-1.25 mm

cooling device
40
0 5 10 15 20 25
x (mm)

Fig. 5  Average temperature 80 2,4

and temperature standard devia- Average Temperature (Left axis)
tion versus thermal resistance Temperature standard deviation (Right axis) 2,2
coefficient (conditions: Tf,in
= 21.7 °C; q″ = 50 W/cm2; 70
2,0
Q = 8.8 × 10−6 ­m3/s) [12]
1,8

T (ºC)
T (ºC)

60
1,6

1,4
50

1,2

40 1,0
4,0E-05 6,0E-05 8,0E-05 1,0E-04 1,2E-04

Rt (m2·K/W)

resistance (Rt) and leads to higher temperatures. On the
other hand, it smoothes out the spatial temperature vari-
ations and improves its uniformity (Fig. 5), which can be
expressed through the temperature standard deviation (σT):
 
Ti − T
σT = (1)
n
where Ti (with i = 1 to n) are the different temperature val-
ues inside the studied area, T is the average of these values,
and n is the number of data values analysed.
3 Analytical model
As commented before, cooling devices must provide, for
many applications, a low thermal resistance coefficient
in order to maintain the temperature within the operating
range and good temperature uniformity for reliability and/
or efficiency concerns.
As a consequence, the design procedure aims, on one
hand, to reduce the total thermal resistance of the cool-
ing device. That involves also the reduction of the thermal
resistance of the TIM, which represents nearly half of the
total thermal resistance, through minimizing the TIM thick-
ness. On the other hand, the results presented above in this
study show that the temperature uniformity is improved
when the total thermal resistance increases. For the cool-
ing scheme considered in this study, the first step to reach
a good temperature uniformity is to set the heat exchange
coefficients so as to generate the same temperature below
the jet impingement (x  = 0 mm) and at the beginning of
each section of microchannels (x = 1.5, 4.5, 10.5, 15.5 and
20.5 mm). The results presented in Fig. 4 show that this

13
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997 2991
objective has been achieved, even if, for the flow rate con-
sidered, as the general pattern is a decrease of the tempera-
ture along the flow path, the design slightly overcompen-
sate the coolant temperature increase.
The second step to optimize the temperature uniformity
is to reduce the temperature increase within each micro-
channel section. As in conventional microchannels, the heat
exchange coefficient within these sections remains practi-
cally constant and the slope of the temperature increase
depends on the coolant flow rate and the heat flux. However,
Fig.  4 shows that lateral conduction in the layers between
the heat source and the heat sink (mostly in the copper
layer) generate a smoothing effect on the temperature distri-
bution. So the increase of the TIM layer thickness implies,
besides the above commented negative effect on the temper-
ature, a positive one as it improves the temperature uniform-
ity. Indeed, the temperature non-uniformities, generated
by the variation of the local heat extraction capacity along
the flow path, are damped by the thermal resistance of the
TIM. This layer generates an obstacle to the heat flux in the
z direction. As a consequence, the spreading of the heat flux
is enhanced, as shown also by Collin et al. [8] for hot spots
in 3D microelectronics assemblies.
A two-dimensional thermal analytical model of the cool-
ing device and the layers between it and the heat source is
implemented in order to define the different thermal resist-
ance coefficients and temperatures involved in the heat
transfer and spreading effect in the heat sink (Fig. 6).
The study is focused on the pattern in the flow direc-
tion, the x axis, and through the heat flux main path (z
Fig. 6  Equivalent thermal circuit of cell, mounting and cooling system
axis). In the y direction, periodicity is assumed since no
variations are expected.
The distribution of the local heat extraction capacity
depends on the local thermal resistance coefficients of the
cooling device (Rconv,xi ), calculated as follows:
1 T0(xi ) − Tf (xi )
Rconv,xi = = (2)
h · SHF(xi ,xi+1 ) q′′ · SHF(xi ,xi+1 )
where h represents the local heat transfer coefficient.
T0(xi ) is the surface temperature of the cooling device
(z = 0 mm) at the position xi (i  =  1 to n, i represents
successive positions along the flow path) and Tf (xi ) is the
average fluid temperature at the same position. SHF(xi ,xi+1 )
is the area of the applied heat flux (q″) between two posi-
tions ­(xi and ­xi+1). The conduction through the base of
the cooling device (Si) is included within this thermal
resistance.
This local thermal resistance coefficient is based on
the local fluid temperature, forcing an iterative solution
approach. To decouple the effect of flow temperature
increase from the convective heat transfer coefficient,
we replace Tf (xi ) by the inlet fluid temperature, Tf,in, and
add an equivalent local thermal resistance (Rconv,in) that
accounts for both the local thermal resistance coefficient
and the increase of the coolant temperature along the
flow path.
The local fluid temperature at xi, expressed as a func-
tion of the coolant inlet temperature (Tf (x=0) = Tf ,in ), is
assessed through the following equation:
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2992 Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997

q′′ · SHF(0,xi ) q′′ · SHF(0,xi ) kS is the thermal conductivity of the substrate and AS the
Tf (xi ) = Tf (x=0) +
ρ · Cp · Q
= Tf ,in +
ρ · Cp · Q
(3) section of the substrate (plane yz).
Hence, the temperature difference within the substrate (z
where SHF(0,xi ) is the area of the applied heat flux (q″) = −1.25 mm) can be written:
between the inlet (x = 0) and position xi.
�TS = TS(xi+1) − TS(xi) = q′′ · SHF(xi+1 ,xi ) · Req − Rb
 
The heating of the coolant, as it absorbs energy from (10)
the inlet (x  = 0) to position xi, has been introduced as a
thermal resistance by Tuckerman and Pease [14], and can Rlat · �Rconv,in + Rb2
�TS = q′′ · SHF(xi+1 ,xi ) · (11)
be defined as an apparent coolant thermal resistance Rf ,xi �Rconv,in − 2Rb − Rlat
through the equation:
  On the other hand the temperature difference at
Tf (xi ) − Tf ,in 1 z = 0 mm is expressed through:
Rf ,xi = ′′
= (4)
q · SHF(0,xi ) ρ · Cp · Q �T0 = T0(xi+1) − T0(xi) = q′′ · SHF(xi+1 −xi ) · �Rconv,in (12)
As a consequence, the equivalent local thermal resist- The smoothing effect of TIM layer on the temperature
ance (R(conv,in) ), which includes the effect of convection can be analysed by comparing the temperature variations at
and heating of the coolant, is defined as: z = 0 mm (�T0 ) and at z = −1.25 mm (�TS ):
      
T0(xi ) − Tf ,in  T0   Rconv,in · Rconv,in − 2Rb − Rlat 
R(conv,in)xi = (5)  T  = 
  (13)
q′′ · SHF(0,xi ) Rlat · Rconv,in + Rb2

S 

The temperature nonuniformities are then caused by This expression can be simplified because:
the variation of this cooling device equivalent local ther-  
mal resistance (�R(conv,in) ). On the other hand, the ther- Rlat << Rb Rlat · �Rconv,in << Rb2
mal resistance of the TIM layer ((RTIM )) within the section
⇒ 2 (14)
�Rconv,in << Rb �Rconv,in << Rb2
between xi and xi+1, is calculated through the equation:
eTIM So Eq. (13) can be transformed into:
RTIM = , (6)
kTIM · SHF(xi+1 −xi )     
 T0   Rconv,in · Rconv,in − 2Rb − Rlat 
where eTIM is the thickness of the TIM layer and kTIM is its
 ≈ (15)
Rb2
 T   
S 
thermal conductivity.
The study of the smoothing effect of the TIM layer is
  
analysed on the base of the analytical model (Fig. 6). Tak- 2

 �T0   �Rconv,in �Rconv,in · Rlat �Rconv,in · (−2Rb ) 
ing Ts(x) as the temperature within the substrate at position
 ≈
 �T   R2 −
Rb2
−
Rb2
 (16)
S b

x (y = 0 mm and z = −1.25 mm) and stating that Ts(xi+1 )  > 
Ts(xi ), the heat flux between Ts(xi) and Tf (xi) depends on the    
 T0   Rconv,in 
base thermal resistance of the model ­(Rb), with R ­ b defined  ∝
 T   R

 (17)
as: S b

On the base of the previous analysis, a nondimensional

Rb = RS + RTIM + Rconv,in (7) parameter, relevant for the temperature smoothing effect
On the other hand, the two heat flow paths (simplified and called Smoothing Resistance ratio (SRr), is identified:
following the analytic model—Fig. 6) between Ts(xi+1 ) and  
�R(conv,in) 
 
�R(conv,in) 
Tf (xi ) can be represented by an equivalent thermal resistance SRr = = (18)
­(Req): Rb RS + RTIM + Rconv
It compares the variation of the equivalent thermal resist-
ance of the cooling device along the flow path to the base
 
(Rlat + Rb ) · Rb − �Rconv,in
Req = (8) thermal resistance. The variation of this base thermal resist-
2Rb + Rlat − �Rconv,in
ance ­(Rb) depends, for fixed designs of both the cooling
with Rlat the lateral thermal resistance within the substrate device and the substrate, on the thermal resistance of the
layer (in this case, Copper), defined as follows: TIM layer. Therefore, this parameter compares the magni-
xi+1 − xi tude of the origin of the non uniformities to the normal heat
Rlat = (9) flux barrier (z direction) that represents the TIM layer. For
kS · AS
large variations of the equivalent thermal resistance of the

13
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997 2993

cooling device and/or low thermal resistances of the TIM
layer, the Smoothing Resistance ratio increases and the
magnitude of the temperature uniformities increases.
The numerical model [12] is used to assess the impact
of the Smoothing Resistance ratio on the temperature
uniformity.
studied and the experimental conditions applied). This
result is consistent with Eq. (17). However, it cannot be
applied for higher Smoothing Resistance ratios, as the sim-
plifications presented in Eq. (14) are then not valids.
4.2 Effect of the smoothing resistance ratio (SRr)
on the temperature uniformity

The relationship between the origin of the temperature non

4 Results and discussion
4.1 Smoothing effect of the TIM layer
On the base of the numerical simulations, the temperature
differences between 2 points on the top and at the bot-
tom of the TIM layer are represented as a function of the
Smoothing Resistance ratio (Fig. 7).
As the temperature differences at both sides of the
TIM layer show linear trends, the quotient between these
two values is nearly constant within the range of Smoot-
ing Resistance ratio considered (defined by cooling device
uniformities and the smoothing effect on the temperature
distribution is expressed through the Smoothing Resistance
ratio. Two types of areas along the x axis are evaluated for
the research.
In a first step, the areas between subsequent sections
(Fig. 8): 1–2, 3–4, 5–6, 7–8 are considered. The wall tem-
perature decreases noticeably when the coolant enters to
the next microchannels row due to the abrupt change of
the heat exchange area available and the coolant velocity.
So, in this area, the variations of the Smoothing Resistance
ratio depend mainly on the variation of the convective ther-
mal resistance (ΔRconv).

Fig. 7  Temperatures differ- 3.5

ences in the x-direction at
several depth ΔTs (Substrate; z = -0.125 mm) y = 58.478x
3
R2 = 0.9812
ΔTo (bottom of the cooling device; z = 0 mm)

2.5

2
ΔT (ºC)

1.5

1
y = 8.557x
R2 = 0.5948
0.5

0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06

SRr (-)

1.1 2.1a 2.1b 3.1a 3.1b 4.1a 4.1b 5.1a 5.1b

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8

Fig. 8  Areas studied between and inside channel sections

13

2994
Fig. 9  Temperature uniform-
ity in front of the smoothing
resistance ratio (SRr) for 1 mm
long sections within microchan-
nel sections (MC inside) and
between the microchannel sec-
tions (MC between)
In a second step, areas inside the different sections (1.1,
2.1a, 2.1b, 3.1a, 3.1b, 4.1a, 4.1b, 5.1a, 5.1b) are analysed. The
length of these areas (x direction) is also 1 mm. There, the
temperature increases quite linearly as a result of the coolant
temperature increase, expressed within the Smoothing Resist-
ance ratio through the variation of the coolant thermal resist-
ance (ΔRf). Indeed, within the microchannel sections, as in
conventional microchannels, the heat transfer coefficient, and
therefore the local convection thermal resistance, is nearly
constant. The zones at the beginning of the sections are not
taken into account because of the effect of the entrance region.
Figure  9 shows the temperature uniformity, expressed
through the standard deviation of the temperature, as a
function of the Smoothing Resistance ration for both areas
considered.
For the same section length (1 mm), the Smoothing
Resistance ratio is higher between the microchannel sec-
tions than inside them, as the variation of the equiva-
lent thermal resistance between two successive sections
(mainly caused by the convective thermal resistance)
is higher than the one within the sections (only due to
the variation of the coolant thermal resistance). We can
observe that these causes of temperature non uniformi-
ties are reflected in the temperature standard deviation.
Indeed, the temperature standard deviation is noticed
to be higher in the areas between sections than in the
areas inside the channel sections. The barrier to the
normal heat flux (z direction), caused by the TIM ther-
mal resistance coefficient (RTIM ), enhance the lateral
heat conduction within the layers (xy plane). However,
for high variations of the equivalent thermal resistance
between successive locations (|�R(conv,in) |); high values
of SRr), this lateral conduction is not sufficient to avoid
the decrease of the temperature uniformity (increase
of σT). A higher thermal resistance of the TIM (higher
13
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997
thickness) would be necessary to reduce the Smooth-
ing Resistance ratio and, as a consequence, to improve
the temperature uniformity. But, on the other hand, this
change would also have a large impact on the average
temperature of the cooled device (Fig. 5).
The dependency of the temperature standard deviation
with the Smoothing Resistance ratio is shown to be lin-
ear, with coefficient of determination (R2) up to 0.99:
 
�R(conv,in) 
σT = 20.00 · SRr = 20.00 · (19)
Rb
This analysis has been extended (Fig. 11) to areas of
more than 1 mm length (2 and 3 mm length sections: 2.2,
3.2, 4.2, 5.2 and 2.3, 3.3, 4.3, 5.3) within microchannel
sections (Fig. 10).
The slope of the linear trend obtained for all the length
sections considered is nearly the same than for only 1 mm
long sections. Considering all the values, the coefficient
of determination (R2) is also 0.98 and the dependency
of the temperature standard deviation with the Smooth-
ing Resistance ratio is expressed through the following
equation:
 
�R(conv,in) 
σT = 19.84 · SRr = 19.84 · (20)
Rb
It’s also observed that, logically, the temperature uni-
formity decreases when the length of the studied section
augments.
4.3 Considerations for the design procedure
The previous results lead to the determination of the design
procedure for stepwise varying width microchannel heat
sink that takes into account the TIM layer impact on both
the temperature uniformity and the average temperature.
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997 2995
2.3(3mm) 3.3
2.2(2mm) 3.2
Fig. 10  New areas of 2 and 3 mm length studied
Fig. 11  Temperature uniform-
ity in front of the smoothing
resistance ratio (SRr) for section
lengths of 1 mm, 2 and 3 mm
For given heat flux and flow rates, the dependency of
the standard deviation of the temperature with respect to
the Smoothing Resistance ratio can be established through
the numerical model, which has been experimentally vali-
dated. Based on this result, the design procedure is there-
fore developed in two steps:
• The first step aims to set the wall temperature equal at
each microchannel section entry, by tailoring their width
(hence their heat extraction capacity) to compensate the
increase of the coolant temperature.
• In a second step, the unavoidable increase of the tem-
perature within the microchannel sections must be
smoothed in order to reach the desired value of stand-
ard deviation of the temperature, by adjusting the TIM
thickness to obtain the correlated value of the Smooth-
ing Resistance ratio. This TIM thickness is, on the other
hand, limited by the maximum operating temperature of
the cooled device.
Another approach to improve the temperature uniform-
ity within the microchannel sections consists in reduc-
ing the variations of the equivalent thermal resistance
4.3 5.3
4.2 5.2
between successive locations |�R(conv,in) | (low values
of SRr). This can be done by reducing the microchan-
nel length and, therefore, by augmenting the number of
sections with stepwise varying microchannel width. This
kind of pattern doesn’t imply large cost increases for
microfabrication processes. However, a cooling device
with an increasing density of pin fins, which answers this
design pattern, has also been studied [15] in the same
conditions (Tf,in  = 20 °C and q″  = 50 W/cm2). On the
one hand, the thermal resistance coefficients obtained for
both cooling devices are very similar (Fig. 12). On the
other hand, it was shown that the large number of section
entries implied, for Reynolds numbers higher than 1150,
an increase of the turbulence and, therefore, of the pres-
sure drops.
As a consequence, in order to improve the tempera-
ture uniformity, two solutions must be balanced: On the
one hand, increasing the TIM thermal resistance, which
is limited to the maximum operating temperature of the
cooled device and, on the other hand, reducing the length
of the microchannel sections, which entails, in some flow
conditions, higher pressure drops and, therefore, higher
power consumptions of the cooling device.
13

2996
Fig. 12  Thermal resistance 120000
coefficients and pressure drops
of the stepwise varying width
microchannels (MC) and the 100000
matrix of pin fins (PF) cooling
devices
80000
(Pa)
60000
40000
20000
0 1.E-05
0 500
5 Conclusions
A numerical model, experimentally validated, has shown
that the TIM layer has a smoothing effect on the tempera-
ture distribution generated by a stepwise varying width
microchannel device. An analytical model showed that
the temperature non uniformities are caused by the space
variation of the equivalent local thermal resistance of the
cooling device, which includes the convection thermal
resistance and the coolant temperature increase along the
flow path. A nondimensional parameter, called Smooth-
ing Resistance ratio, has been defined as the quotient
between the cause of the temperature non uniformities
and the parameter that imply a smoothing effect on the
temperature distribution, which is the TIM thermal resist-
ance. The results show that the temperature uniformity
of the cooled device, expressed through it temperature
standard deviation, is improved when the Smoothing
Resistance ratio decreases, following a linear trend.
This result implies that, in order to improve the tem-
perature uniformity, the cooling device must aim to
reduce its Smoothing Resistance ratio. Two solutions
must be balanced in order to reach this goal. On the one
hand, the thermal resistance of the TIM layer can be
increased, whenever the augment of the averaged tem-
perature caused by this solution doesn’t imply to over-
pass the operating temperature of the cooled device. On
the other hand, the length of the stepwise varying width
microchannel sections can be reduced. However, this last
solution can lead to higher pressure drops and, there-
fore, higher power consumptions of the cooling device.
The framework presented herein therefore provides an
approach to guide a design that accounts for this compro-
mise and considers the 2D spreading effects.
13
Heat Mass Transfer (2017) 53:2987–2997
7.E-05
6.E-05
5.E-05
Rt (m2·K/W)
4.E-05
3.E-05
MC Pressure losses
PF Pressure losses 2.E-05
MC Thermal Resistance coefficient
PF Thermal Resistance coefficient
1000 1500 2000 2500
Re (-)
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