FLORENCE – A team of University of North Alabama students recently placed fourth in the American Society of Mechanic Engineers K-16/IEEE EPS Heat Sink Design Competition.

Team LeoSink, led by Dr. Sayeed Shohag, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering and Industrial Professions, consisted of graduate students from UNA’s Applied Manufacturing Engineering program.

“The team started brainstorming their ideas based on the competition’s guidelines published last year,” Shohag said. “Each team member came up with novel design ideas, which were discussed in meetings. After several iterations, the top two ideas were selected for the final design. These designs were meticulously checked to ensure they met competition guidelines, including additive manufacturability, heat transfer efficiency, and overall quality of work.

“Computer simulations were then performed on the top two heat sink designs, and the one demonstrating the highest figure of merit was selected for the final submission.”

The competition attracted teams from around the world, including top research institutions. Seven teams, including UNA’s LeoSink team, advanced to the semifinals. During this stage, the GE Additive Manufacturing engineering team organized a workshop and provided feedback on each design. 

The LeoSink team worked to modify the design based on the GE engineers’ suggestions. The designed heat sink was then 3D printed in stainless steel at the GE Additive Manufacturing facility and experimentally tested at the University of Southern Denmark.

A heat sink is a device that transfers the heat generated by an electronic or mechanical device to a fluid medium, often air or a liquid coolant, where it is dissipated from the device.

The student teams designed, analyzed, and optimized an additively manufactured heat sink to cool a constant power module subject to forced convection at two air velocities in a vertical enclosure.