Simulation and optimization of heat flow via anisotropic material thermal conductivity

This article is focused on heat flow control within a composite material that has designed anisotropic thermal conductivity. The optimal conductive heat transfer path in the composite is specified via customized local scale properties, where the physical parameter distribution is found using an iterative procedure that couples a gradient based optimization routine with a finite element solver. A sample optimization result is presented to illustrate the procedure, and the final solution is translated into a physical embodiment having heterogeneous material properties. Numerical experiments were performed both on this synthesized material and a baseline homogeneous material with the same filler volume fraction. Heat transfer results indicate a substantial reduction in overall temperature with effective concentration of thermal power density in the designed material.

Research highlights► Gradient-based optimization guides development of novel composite microstructures. ► Heat flow control is obtained via designed anisotropic material thermal conductivity. ► Heat transfer simulations indicate substantial reduction in thermal resistance. ► Applications include material design for thermal circuits or energy harvesting.