Study of Thermal Management in High-Speed Aircraft Wings Using TPMS Structures With Gradient Adjustment of Cell Size

Abstract

Abstract. As aerospace technology rapidly progresses and space environments become more sophisticated, the need for aircraft components made of lightweight, thermally insulating, and advanced thermal conductive materials has soared. The research of triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures has grown into a research hotspot due to their unique thermal and mechanical properties. However, research on the thermal conductivity of TPMS structures featuring varying cell sizes is quite limited. Therefore, this research proposes a new method for gradient adjustment of TPMS cell sizes. A constant temperature heating experiment at 300 °C was conducted on four TPMS wings with different cell size gradients using an active cooling experimental platform, and comparisons were made with two TPMS wing structures with uniform cell sizes. The results showed that within the inlet velocity range of 1.06–12.72 m/s, the wing with a cell size of 10–12–10 mm exhibited the highest overall convective heat transfer coefficient. Compared to wings with cell sizes of 10 mm, 12 mm, 10–12 mm, 12–10 mm, and 12–10–12 mm, the overall convective heat transfer coefficient of the 10–12–10 mm wing increased by 1.3–6.2%, 28.8–63.2%,15.1–44.6%,7.5–33.5%, and 21.2–49.6%, respectively. Additionally, in accordance with the experimental measurements, the relationships between the Nusselt number, friction coefficient, convective heat transfer coefficient, overall heat transfer coefficient, and Reynolds number were geometrically defined. The results of this study offer a strong theoretical foundation and actionable insights for effective thermal regulation of aircraft surface configurations in the production of the lightweight aviation manufacturing industry.