Experimental Mapping of Local Heat Transfer Coefficients Under Multiple Piezoelectric Fans
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Piezoelectric fans have been shown to provide large enhancements in heat transfer over natural convection while consuming very little power. These fans consist of a piezoelectric material attached to a flexible cantilever. When driven at resonance, large oscillations at the cantilever tip cause fluid motion, which in turn, results in improved heat transfer rates. In this study, the local heat transfer coefficients are determined experimentally for piezoelectric fans vibrating close to an electrically heated stainless steel foil, and the entire temperature field is observed by means of an infrared camera. Various vibration amplitudes, distances from heater to fan tip (or gap), and fan pitches are considered for both single-fan and two-fan configurations in impinging orientations. Of particular interest is the increase in heat transfer performance with an additional fan present and the dependence of this increase on the variable parameters. Results show nearly uniform cooling within the envelope of vibration for single-fan experiments with small gaps, and the existence of an optimal gap distance which is dependent on vibration amplitude. The benefits of an additional fan include greater coverage area, but the resulting increase in peak convection coefficient is highly dependent on the fan pitch. Conditions exist where constructive interference is observed which causes a roughly 10% increase in peak convection coefficient while significantly increasing the coverage area. Understanding the local performance of piezoelectric fans provides an important tool to help implement these devices in practical cooling systems.
