Numerical analysis on thermo-fluid–structural performance of graded lattice channels produced by metal additive manufacturing

The graded lattice channel is a novel design for improving heat transfer and structural stability by effectively varying the volume fraction for various applications. However, the combined analysis of the thermo-fluid and structural performances of the graded lattice channel is very limited in the literature. In this study, the thermo-fluid–structural performances of the increase-type graded (IG), V-type graded (VG), and W-type graded (WG) lattice channels were investigated using a thermo-fluid–structural interaction one-way coupled model and compared with that of a uniform lattice channel. The results indicated that the increase-type graded lattice channel had the lowest standard deviation of the working surface temperature owing to an increase in its local convective heat transfer. The V-type lattice channel exhibited the lowest thermo-fluid performance owing to the highest difference in the volume fraction between unit cells. The W-type graded lattice channel exhibited the lowest maximum stress because of its highest support structure. Furthermore, under various inlet velocity and heat flux conditions, the W-type graded lattice channel exhibited superior thermo-fluid–structural performance owing to its high thermo-fluid performance and low stress ratio, when compared with those of other lattice channels. Overall, the graded lattice channels can be recommended as a cooling channel of high-performance electronic devices and manufacturing tools.