Numerical analysis of thermal-hydraulic characteristics and optimization of channels with inclined staggered flow-guiding ribs

In electronic thermal management systems, the channel configuration of a liquid-cooled plate governs heat transfer and pressure drop. It is urgent to propose novel channel configurations, investigate the influence of key parameters on thermal-hydraulic characteristics, and conduct optimization considering heat transfer and fluid flow. This study proposed a new channel design incorporating inclined, staggered flow-guiding ribs mounted on sidewalls, which induced periodic coolant deflection and promoted local sweeping of the heated wall. The effects of rib inclination angle (θ), rib height (h), channel width (W), and fin height (H) on thermal-hydraulic performance were numerically investigated. In addition, heat transfer field synergy and pressure field synergy analyses were employed to explore the underlying heat transfer and flow mechanisms. Predictive correlations for Nu and f were developed, and multi-objective optimization was conducted to obtain the optimal θ and geometric parameters. The results suggested that both Nu and f increased with θ and then decreased after reaching their respective maxima. The heat transfer was enhanced at the expense of increased flow resistance, with increasing h, decreasing W, and decreasing H. The proposed correlations for Nu and f exhibited high predictive accuracy, with mean deviations of 5.20% and 5.90%, respectively. The optimal set of parameters was θ = 37.65°, h = 0.997 mm, W = 5.881 mm, and H = 3.501 mm. The optimized configuration achieved a PEC of 1.906 against the plain-fin baseline, demonstrating substantial thermal-hydraulic improvement. Compared to the parametric-analysis-based reference design, its PEC of 1.013 indicated a marginal improvement.