Multifunctional heat exchangers derived from three-dimensional micro-lattice structures

A micro-scale cross-flow heat exchanger is constructed from a hollow nickel micro-lattice structure, which is fabricated by conformally electroplating nickel onto a sacrificial polymer micro-lattice formed from self-propagating photopolymer waveguides. The periodic unit cell of the hollow nickel micro-lattice structure tested here includes lattice members with a diameter <1 mm and a nominal pore size <9 mm. The heat transfer performance of the micro-lattice-based heat exchanger is analyzed in terms of thermal conductance per unit volume, which is equal to the value of overall heat transfer coefficient multiplied by surface area to volume ratio. Calculated values range from 0.84 to 1.58 W/cm3K for Reynolds number ranges of between 3400 ± 200 and 6500 ± 500 for hot water flow inside the hollow lattice members and 85 ± 6 and 240 ± 20 for cold water flow around the lattice members. Based on a developed correlation, the experimental heat transfer data is used to predict the thermal performance of larger and smaller micro-lattice-based heat exchangers, as well as various micro-lattice feature dimensions that are tunable with the fabrication process (node-to-node spacing, inner diameter, etc.). The micro-lattice heat exchanger was tested under quasi-static compression and the results illustrate the multifunctional capability for load bearing and energy absorption applications. This work demonstrates a multifunctional heat exchanger with a fully-scalable fabrication process which is useful for size and weight constrained heat transfer applications, including those in the automotive and aerospace industries.