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Published on: January 30, 2020
Transpiration cooling with bio-inspired structured surfaces
Gan Huang1, Yinhai Zhu, Zhi-Yuan Liao
1Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, People's Republic of China. Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX2 0ES, United Kingdom.
Inspired by earthworm skin, a novel biomimetic non-smooth surface enhances transpiration cooling. This bio-inspired design significantly improves cooling efficiency by thickening the protective film, offering better thermal protection.
Area of Science:
- Heat Transfer
- Biomimetics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Transpiration cooling is crucial for protecting components in extreme temperatures.
- Improving transpiration cooling efficiency is vital for practical applications.
- Living organisms exhibit optimal cooling properties due to evolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate a novel transpiration cooling concept using biomimetic non-smooth surfaces.
- To explore the effect of earthworm-inspired surface structures on cooling efficiency.
- To numerically analyze transpiration cooling performance with different groove designs.
Main Methods:
- Numerical investigation of porous plates with isosceles-trapezoid, right-angled-trapezoid, and parallelogram grooves.
- Validation of the numerical model using experimental data.
- Analysis of film thickness and heat convection intensity.
Main Results:
- Non-smooth surface structure significantly impacts film thickness and heat convection.
- The parallelogram groove design demonstrated the highest cooling efficiency improvement.
- The biomimetic surface thickened the protective film by 22.7%.
- Transpiration cooling efficiency increased by 12% with the bio-inspired surface.
Conclusions:
- Biomimetic non-smooth surfaces enhance transpiration cooling performance.
- The parallelogram groove design is most effective for improving cooling efficiency.
- This approach offers a promising method for advanced thermal management in high-temperature environments.
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