Employing thin planar electrodes to expand the ionic wind flow coverage area and achieve enhanced heat dissipation

The suboptimal photoelectric conversion efficiency of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) leads to increased temperature. There is a growing interest in using microstructure ionic wind pumps to regulate the chip temperature. But the ionic wind flow and thermal transfer characteristics of thin-plate electrode pumps used for cooling LED chips is unclear. This study proposes ionic wind pumps equipped with wedged and zigzag emitters to effectively manage the heat generated by high-power LED chips. Experimental investigations were conducted to analyze the electrohydrodynamic characteristics of pumps with different emitter types. A two-dimensional model with a wedged electrode and a three-dimensional model with a zigzag electrode were developed for flow distribution analysis and energy efficiency comparison. The cooling capacity of pumps with different configurations was examined. The results show that the pump equipped with a zigzag electrode exhibits improved stability in corona discharge and approximately 1.53 times higher energy efficiency compared to the pump with a wedged electrode. Moreover, the pump with the zigzag electrode covers a larger ionic wind flow area, generating a higher intensity of ionic wind. The angle between the emitter and the grounding electrode significantly affects the ionic wind flow characteristics. The optimal angle is 70° for pumps with wedged emitters and 30° for those with zigzag emitters. Both pumps can produce a steady wall jet at their optimal angle, causing significant disruption in the surrounding area. The pump with a zigzag electrode exhibits superior cooling performance and is more effective with low power consumption.