Thermal camouflage device with efficient thermal management. (1st December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zeng, Xu; Wang, Wei; Sun, Chen; Tian, Xi-Wei; Wang, Xiaohui; Cai, Yanzhao; Chen, Chunyan; Xue, Yuqing
• Is Part Of: International journal of heat and mass transfer. Volume 198(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-12-01
• Subjects: Special device, Thermal camouflage, Thermal management, Metamaterial; Heat -- Transmission -- Periodicals; Mass transfer -- Periodicals; Chaleur -- Transmission -- Périodiques; Transfert de masse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 621.4022
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2022.123402
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0017-9310

Abstract

Highlights: Thermal metamaterial design optimization method based on composite theory. A special device with thermal anisotropy is designed and manufactured. Camouflaging the target in the background when it is a heat source. The temperature of the target is effectively reduced by directing the heat flow towards the background. Abstract: Thermal camouflage devices adjust the temperature distribution around the target to hide it in the background. However, the majority of the current research is aimed at the situation that the target is non heat source or does not consider the heat dissipation of the target, which limits the application of relevant methods. If the heating target is merely isolated from its surroundings, it will suffer from severe thermal instability. In order to solve this problem, we're considering about using a special device with anisotropy to camouflage the target's thermal signature and lowering the target's temperature as much as possible. The special device is designed by a thermal metamaterial design optimization method based on composite theory. The thermal camouflage and thermal management performance of the special device are verified by numerical simulations and experiments under various models and target power. The results show that when the internal target warms up, the special device can conceal itself in the background environment while also having good thermal management performance to achieve effective thermal dissipation to the target. The method has potential applications in heat flow control, thermal energy recovery, and other areas of integrated thermal management.