Convective meta-thermal dispersion for self-adaptive cooling enhancement

TL;DR

This paper introduces a convective-meta thermal dispersion strategy that enhances self-adaptive cooling by disrupting tangential heat flow, significantly reducing internal heat source temperatures without additional energy input.

Contribution

The study presents a novel CMTD approach integrating low and high thermal conductivity materials to improve heat transfer efficiency and achieve self-adaptive cooling effects.

Findings

Maximum 24.5% decrease in IHS temperature under steady state

Maximum 32.3% increase in heat transfer in transient conditions

Effective cooling without additional energy or area expansion

Abstract

Improving the heat transfer coefficient is crucial across various energy utilization processes for maintaining device safety and stability with high energy efficiency. However, in scenarios with limited heat capacity flow rates, increasing the thermal conductivity of encapsulated internal heat source (IHS) packaging can paradoxically impede heat transfer. Herein, we introduced a convective-meta thermal dispersion (CMTD) strategy applicable throughout the energy domain. By integrating low thermal conductivity materials into high thermal conductivity package structures, we disrupted tangential heat flow while preserving efficient radial heat transport. Through this approach, a notable reduction in tangential temperature within the fluid channel was achieved, effectively lowering the IHS temperature. Remarkably, this cooling mechanism does not need additional energy input, thermal property enhancements, or expanded heat transfer areas, which are often prerequisites in existing technologies. Moreover, spontaneous enhancement phenomena emerged under constrained heat transfer conditions, termed self-adaptive cooling enhancement. Our investigations revealed, under steady-state conditions, a maximum 24.5% decrease in IHS average temperature, while transient conditions exhibited a maximum 32.3% increase in heat transfer between the IHS and cooling fluid, validating the efficacy of the CMTD strategy. These findings offer a promising pathway for efficient thermal management in various thermal energy utilization fields with high power density such as nuclear fission and fusion and contributed to a deeper understanding of fundamental fluid-solid heat transfer mechanisms across the energy science.