Evaluation and optimal design of the heat transfer characteristics of lattice structures under impingement flow

Abstract

Porous media heat sinks have attracted much attention because of their large surface area, light weight, which are expected to improve heat transfer characteristics. In this study, the heat transfer characteristics of lattice structures under impinging flow conditions were investigated both by using FE simulation and experiment. In our investigation, the BCC lattice and PIN structures with different heights were manufactured by using the metal 3D printer, and their heat transfer coefficient were compared. From our FE simulation as well the measurement of the temperature, it was confirmed that the BCC lattice has superior heat transferring response than the PIN structure for a shorter one. In addition, we attempt to maximize the performance of the lattice heat sink by applying the density method which is commonly used in topology optimization, and optimize the relative density distribution of lattice units based on grayscale optimization.