Tunable liquid-solid hybrid thermal metamaterials with a topology transition

TL;DR

This paper introduces a liquid-solid hybrid thermal metamaterial that can be externally tuned to switch between thermal cloaking and concentration, breaking traditional heat conduction constraints and enabling advanced heat control.

Contribution

It demonstrates a novel approach to thermal metamaterials by incorporating convection and topology transitions, surpassing conventional heat conduction limitations.

Findings

Achieved continuous switching between cloaking and concentration modes.

Demonstrated topology transition in the virtual space of thermotic transformation.

Enabled external control of heat transport via liquid flow tuning.

Abstract

Thermal metamaterials provide rich control of heat transport which is becoming the foundations of cutting-edge applications ranging from chip cooling to biomedical. However, due to the fundamental laws of physics, the manipulation of heat is much constrained in conventional thermal metamaterials where effective heat conduction with Onsager reciprocity dominates. Here, through the inclusion of thermal convection and breaking the Onsager reciprocity, we unveil a regime in thermal metamaterials and transformation thermotics that goes beyond effective heat conduction. By designing a liquid-solid hybrid thermal metamaterial, we demonstrate a continuous switch from thermal cloaking to thermal concentration in one device with external tuning. Underlying such a switch is a topology transition in the virtual space of the thermotic transformation which is achieved by tuning the liquid flow via external control. These discoveries illustrate the extraordinary heat transport in complex multi-component thermal metamaterials and pave the way toward an unprecedented regime of heat manipulation.