Design and Analysis of a Temperature-Sensitive Thermal Meta-Regulator Possessing Different Heat Distribution Modes

Yiyi Li, Haochun Zhang (), Yingjie Chen and Jian Zhang
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Yiyi Li: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Haochun Zhang: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Yingjie Chen: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Jian Zhang: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: The control and regulation of thermal fields is of great significance in solving various thermal management problems in human life. Benefitting from the emerging space transformation technique and thermal meta-material, thermal meta-structures with unique thermal control capabilities have been rapidly developed in recent years. However, the exploration of the functional diversity of thermal meta-materials and structures is still inadequate; most related works are still limited to the single-field control effect and lack sensitivity to external environment changes. For the designed functional structures, observation and analysis of energy fluctuations and irreversible heat loss during the regulation process of the diffusive thermal field are also scare. Therefore, in this current work, we design a thermal meta-regulator (based on the space transformation theory) that is capable of differently distributing thermal energy according to the heat input direction and switching field control pattern with the change of ambient temperature. In addition to the common indicator of temperature, we also introduce the local entropy production rate and the total entropy production in the thermo-dynamic category to carry out entropy analysis of the energy processes involved in the thermal meta-regulator, making a multi-angle evaluation of the structural performance. Furthermore, we use the statistical response surface method to explore the comprehensive/interaction effect of multiple influencing factors on the thermal meta-regulator; the derived regression equations can be used to accurately predict the structural effects under different design schemes and temperature conditions. Our work further enriches the diversity and flexibility of thermal field manipulation manners and the demonstrated functions are also expected to be realized in other physical fields.

Keywords: space transformation; thermal metamaterial; temperature sensitive; differential response; entropy analysis; response surface method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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