Open Access

ARTICLE

Heat Transfer Characterization of TPMS Heat Exchangers Applied to the Aerospace Field

Nan Li^1,2, Miao Wang¹, Jingwen Zhao¹, Kechun Sun¹, Cheng Bi³, Mu Du^4,*, Ersheng You⁵, Mingyang Yang^6,*
1 School of Civil Engineering, Luoyang Institute of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471023, China
2 Henan Key Laboratory of Green Building Materials Manufacturing and Intelligent Equipment, Luoyang, 471023, China
3 Xi’an Special Equipment Inspection Institute, Xi’an, 710065, China
4 Institute for Advanced Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, China
5 National Key Laboratory of Nuclear Reactor Technology, Nuclear Power Institute of China, Chengdu, 610004, China
6 School of Resources Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China
* Corresponding Author: Mu Du. Email: ; Mingyang Yang. Email:
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Microscale Heat and Mass Transfer and Efficient Energy Conversion)

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer https://doi.org/10.32604/fhmt.2025.061192

Received 19 November 2024; Accepted 27 January 2025; Published online 19 March 2025

Abstract

In exploring hypersonic propulsion, precooler combined engines require the development of lightweight, efficient, and compact heat exchangers (HX). As additive manufacturing technology continues to progress, triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures, characterized by exceptionally high surface area to volume ratios and intricate geometric structures, have demonstrated superior heat transfer performance. This research examines the thermal-hydraulic (TH) behavior of FKS and Diamond as heat transfer structures under different Reynolds numbers through numerical simulations. The Nusselt number for FKS is 13.2%–17.6% higher than Diamond, while the friction factor for FKS is approximately 18.8%–29.3% higher. A detailed analysis of the internal flow mechanisms reveals that the flow pattern within TPMS can be summarized as cyclic convergence-separation-convergence. The fluid experiences constant disturbances from the structure in all spatial directions, generating strong turbulent mixing and large wall shear stresses, which significantly enhance heat transfer performance.

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Keywords

TPMS; heat transfer; thermal-hydraulic; mathematical equation

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