Cheung Samantha, Kang Jiyun, Lin Yujui, Goodson Kenneth E, Asheghi Mehdi, Gu X Wendy
Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jan 11;15(1):1688. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-85935-x.
Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) metamaterials show promise for thermal management systems but are challenging to integrate into existing packaging with strict mechanical requirements. Composite TPMS lattices may offer more control over thermal and mechanical properties through material and geometric tuning. Here, we fabricate copper-plated, 3D-printed triply periodic minimal surface primitive lattices and evaluate their suitability for battery thermal management systems. We measure the effects of lattice geometry and copper thickness on pressure drop, mechanical properties, and thermal conductivity. The lattices as internal filling structures in a multichannel cold plate exhibited pressure drops under 6.5 kPa at a 1 LPM flow rate. Pressure drop decreased when the number of channels (width of the cold plate) was increased. With a 0.43% copper volume loading, the lattice more than tripled in thermal conductivity but still retained a polymer-like compliance. A higher lattice relative density did not affect the thermal conductivity but caused a higher elastic modulus and compressive strength, and a stiffer cyclic loading response. The lattice design demonstrates that the structural parameters that control pressure drop, mechanical, and thermal conductivity can be decoupled, which can be used to achieve a wide range of disparate properties in complex multiphysics systems.
三重周期极小曲面（TPMS）超材料在热管理系统中展现出应用前景，但要将其集成到具有严格机械要求的现有封装中具有挑战性。复合TPMS晶格可通过材料和几何结构调整，对热性能和机械性能提供更多控制。在此，我们制造了镀铜的三维打印三重周期极小曲面原始晶格，并评估它们在电池热管理系统中的适用性。我们测量了晶格几何结构和铜厚度对压降、机械性能和热导率的影响。作为多通道冷板内部填充结构的晶格，在流速为1升每分钟时，压降低于6.5千帕。当通道数量（冷板宽度）增加时，压降降低。在铜体积含量为0.43%时，晶格的热导率增加了两倍多，但仍保持类似聚合物的柔韧性。较高的晶格相对密度不会影响热导率，但会导致更高的弹性模量和抗压强度，以及更硬的循环加载响应。晶格设计表明，控制压降、机械性能和热导率的结构参数可以解耦，这可用于在复杂的多物理系统中实现广泛的不同性能。
