A fully developed flow thermofluid model for topology optimization of 3D-printed air-cooled heat exchangers

In recent years, in order to obtain a radiator with strong heat exchange capacity, researchers have proposed a lot of heat exchangers to improve heat exchange capacity significantly. However, the cooling abilities of heat exchangers designed by traditional design methods is limited even if the geometric parameters are optimized at the same time. However, using topology optimization to design heat exchangers can overcome this design limitation. Furthermore, researchers have used topology optimization theory to designed one-to-one and many-to-many inlet and outlet heat exchangers because it can effectively increase the heat dissipation rate. In particular, it can further decrease the hot-spot temperature for many-to-many inlet and outlet heat exchangers. Therefore, this article proposes novel heat exchangers with three inlets and one outlet designed by topology optimization to decrease the fluid temperature at the outlet. Subsequently, the effect of the channel depth on the heat exchanger design is also studied. The results show that the type of exchanger varies with the channel depth, and there exists a critical depth value for obtaining the minimum substrate temperature difference. Then, the flow and heat transfer performance of the heat exchangers are numerically investigated. The numerical results show that the heat exchanger derived by topology optimization with the minimum temperature difference as the goal (Model-2) is the best design for flow and heat transfer performance compared to other heat sink designs, including the heat exchanger derived by topology optimization having the average temperature as the goal (Model-1) and conventional straight channels (Model-3). The temperature difference of Model-1 can be reduced by 37.5%, and that of Model-2 can be decreased by 62.5% compared to Model-3. Compared with Model-3, the thermal resistance of Model-1 can be reduced by 21.86%, while that of Model-2 can be decreased by 47.99%. At room temperature, we carried out the forced convention experimental test for Model-2 to measure its physical parameters (temperature, pressure drop) to verify the numerical results. The error of the average wall temperature between experimental results and simulation results is within 2.6 K, while that of the fluid temperature between the experimental and simulation results is within 1.4 K, and the maximum deviation of the measured Nu and simulated Nu was less than 5%. This indicated that the numerical results agreed well with the experimental results.

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Topology optimization on geometry of 3D printed “Impulse RC Alien 4 Inch” racing quadcopter frame with polylactic acid material

10.1063/1.5138342 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Imang Eko Saputro ◽

Alief Wikarta ◽

Ali Muhtar

Keyword(s):

Topology Optimization ◽

Polylactic Acid ◽

3D Printed

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Design and Topology Optimization of 3D-Printed Wax Patterns for Rapid Investment Casting

Procedia Manufacturing ◽

10.1016/j.promfg.2019.06.224 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 683-694 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jiayi Wang ◽

Santosh Reddy Sama ◽

Paul C. Lynch ◽

Guha Manogharan

Keyword(s):

Topology Optimization ◽

Investment Casting ◽

And Topology ◽

3D Printed

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A new methodology for thermostructural topology optimization: Analytical definition and validation

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part L Journal of Materials Design and Applications ◽

10.1177/1464420720970246 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 146442072097024

Author(s):

R Caivano ◽

A Tridello ◽

M Codegone ◽

G Chiandussi

Keyword(s):

Topology Optimization ◽

Heat Exchangers ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Turbine Blades ◽

Mathematical Formulation ◽

Service Condition ◽

Manufacturing Processes ◽

Structural Topology ◽

Real Component ◽

Rapid Diffusion

In the last few years, the rapid diffusion of components produced through additive manufacturing processes has boosted the research on design methodologies based on topology optimization algorithms. Structural topology optimization is largely employed since it permits to minimize the component weight and maximize its stiffness and, accordingly, optimize its resistance under structural loads. On the other hand, thermal topology optimization has been less investigated, even if in many applications, such as turbine blades, engines, heat exchangers, thermal loads have a crucial impact. Currently, structural and thermal optimizations are mainly considered separately, despite the fact that they are both present and coupled in components in service condition. In the present paper, a novel methodology capable of defining the optimized structure under simultaneous thermomechanical constraints is proposed. The mathematical formulation behind the optimization algorithm is reported. The proposed methodology is finally validated on literature benchmarks and on a real component, confirming that it permits to define the topology, which presents the maximized thermal and mechanical performance.

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Thermal Conductivity Testing Apparatus for 3D Printed Materials

Volume 2: Heat Transfer Equipment; Heat Transfer in Multiphase Systems; Heat Transfer Under Extreme Conditions; Nanoscale Transport Phenomena; Theory and Fundamental Research in Heat Transfer; Thermophysical Properties; Transport Phenomena in Materials Processing and Manufacturing ◽

10.1115/ht2017-4856 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Tiffaney Flaata ◽

Gregory J. Michna ◽

Todd Letcher

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Thermal Conductivity ◽

Additive Manufacturing ◽

3D Printing ◽

Polymer Composite ◽

Heat Exchangers ◽

Fused Deposition ◽

3D Printed ◽

Printed Materials ◽

Metal Polymer

Additive manufacturing, the layer-by-layer creation of parts, was initially used for rapid prototyping of new designs. Recently, due to the decrease in the cost and increase in the resolution and strength of additively manufactured parts, additive manufacturing is increasingly being used for production of parts for end-use applications. Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), a type of 3d printing, is a process of additive manufacturing in which a molten thermoplastic material is extruded to create the desired geometry. Many potential heat transfer applications of 3d printed parts, including the development of additively manufactured heat exchangers, exist. In addition, the availability of metal/polymer composite filaments, first used for applications such as tooling for injection molding applications and to improve wear resistance, could lead to increased performance 3d printed heat exchangers because of the higher thermal conductivity of the material. However, the exploitation of 3d printing for heat transfer applications is hindered by a lack of reliable thermal conductivity data for as-printed materials, which typically include significant void fractions. In this experimental study, an apparatus to measure the effective thermal conductivity of 3d printed composite materials was designed and fabricated. Its ability to accurately measure the thermal conductivity of polymers was validated using a sample of acrylic, whose conductivity is well understood. Finally, the thermal conductivities of various 3d printed polymer, metal/polymer composite, and carbon/polymer composite filaments were measured and are reported in this paper. The materials used are acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polylactic acid (PLA), stainless steel/PLA, Brass/PLA, and Bronze/PLA.

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