Parametric evaluation of a hydrofoil-shaped sidewall rib-employed microchannel heat sink with and without nano-encapsulated phase change material slurry as coolant

•Size and fabrication snags limit the heat transfer by hydrofoil shaped ribs in MCHS.•Disparity in rib extents and coolant properties can rally MCHS performance.•Slurry inlet temperature just below melting point of NEPCM particle is advantageous.•Rise in rib pitch and melting temperature range of NEPCM slurry degrades performance.•Particle loading above 10% with Re above 1000 is not thermodynamically feasible.•The maximum Nu ratios for rib and NEPCM slurry are 1.88 and 2.68, respectively. The application of hydrofoil-shaped sidewall ribs (SWRs) in microchannel heat sinks (MCHSs) with nano-encapsulated phase change material (NEPCM) particle slurry as coolant has recently been proven as an improvised solution for enhancing heat transfer, with a reasonable penalty in pressure drop. However, the further mitigation of high-power densities of modern micro/nanoscale devices is limited owing to manufacturing complications and design constraints. By using the geometrical and thermophysical parameters of hydrofoil-shaped SWRs and NEPCM slurry, the present study numerically evaluates the thermal and hydrodynamic performance of an MCHS device. The preliminary results reveal the superior performance of NEPCM slurry with hydrofoil-shaped SWRs compared with that of water without ribs in an MCHS owing to the improved latent heat storage capability of the former fluid as well as the enhanced heat transfer area of the rib structure. Increase in the width and height of hydrofoil-shaped SWRs and particle diameter, latent heat of fusion and mass concentration of the NEPCM slurry at a constant Reynolds number (Re) and inlet temperature enhances heat transfer. However, increase in the pitch of the hydrofoil-shaped SWRs and melting temperature range of the NEPCM slurry degrades heat transfer. The inlet temperature of the NEPCM slurry, with a slightly lower value than the melting point of the NEPCM particles, yields superior performance. The maximum ratios of the Nusselt number, that is, Nuavg,SWR/Nuavg,ref and Nuavg,NEPCM/Nuavg,ref, are 1.88 and 2.68, respectively. A particle loading of more than 10% at a high Re of 1000 is not reasonable from the thermodynamic efficiency perspective. The findings are expected to serve as a benchmark for the selection of the geometric, thermophysical and operational parameters of future MCHS devices with hydrofoil-shaped SWRs and NEPCM slurry as coolant.