Biomimetic and Constructal Design of Alveolus-Inspired Extended Surfaces for Heat Dispersion

Aidan Robinson, Prodip K. Das*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Biomimetics is a school of design based on taking inspiration from nature to solve complex problems. This is done with the assumption that the natural world already has solutions to many engineering problems that have been refined through trial and error—an example of the constructal law. In this study, biomimicry is used to investigate the impact of the shape of an extended surface for mixed convection cooling within the context of the cavity problem. This is a simplified two-dimensional case that aims to develop new heat dispersal ideas for use in electronics, power generation, and industrial applications. A numerical model is developed and solved using ANSYS Fluent and the results were examined for varying Reynolds, Rayleigh, and Richardson numbers with the goal of maximizing heat transfer. The results show that the alveolus-inspired fin design provides better heat transfer compared with the design based on a rectangular fin in a cavity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number66
JournalEnergies
Volume16
Issue number1
Early online date21 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • alveoli
  • biomimetic design
  • constructal design
  • extended surface
  • mixed convection

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