Comparative numerical and experimental analysis of thermal and hydraulic performance of improved plate fin heat sinks

•Performance analysis of the application of longitudinal perforations and slots in plate-fin heat sinks.•Simultaneous improvement of thermal and hydraulic performance of plate-fin heat sinks.•Reduction in weight of plate-fin heat sinks for heat transfer applications.•Validation of numerical model with literature and experiments.•Application of additive manufacturing tools for the fabrication of experimental components. The benefits of multiple perforations and slots in a plate-fin heat sink are investigated using a conjugate heat transfer model and complementary experimentation. Heat transfer and pressure drop are analyzed across the two, novel plate-fin heat sinks (with perforations and slots). The experimental data validates the conjugate heat transfer CFD model for the air-cooled heat sink. The results from the CFD model show that novel plate-fin heat sinks tend to have a higher heat transfer coefficient than the plane fins without slots and perforations. Also, pressure drop of the novel plate-fin heat sinks is lower than the plane plate-fin heat sink, so less fan power is required for novel heat sinks. For a range of Re number 13,049 to 52195, on average novel plate-fin heat sink-1 (NPFHS-1) and novel plate-fin heat sink-2 (NPFHS-2) have 42.8% and 35.9% higher Nu number than that of the plane plate-fin heat sink (PPFHS). An additional advantage of the reduction in mass of heat sink is achieved because of slots and perforations.