MAE Seminar

Heat Transfer and Fluid Dynamics in Three-Dimensional Micro-Lattice Structures

May 4, 2012

 By

Dr. Christopher S. Roper,

HRL Laboratories, LLC

Micro-scale heat sinks and heat exchangers are of increasing interest for numerous applications due to the enhancement of convective heat transfer as well as an increase in surface area per unit volume with reduction in characteristic length scale. High cost per unit volume and limitations on device thickness severely constrain the applicability of heat transfer devices fabricated using traditional microfabrication techniques. HRL has developed a novel 3-D microfabrication method utilizing self-propagating photopolymer waveguides to rapidly form micro-scale lattice architectures over large areas. I will present experimental and computational investigations into the fluid dynamics and heat transfer properties of these micro-lattices; multiobjective optimization guided materials architecture design; and newly enabled heat transfer devices, including cold plates and heat exchangers based on the micro-lattice architecture.