Phase-Change Heat Transfer in Additively Manufactured Topology Structures for Advanced Thermal Management Systems

Submission Deadline: 31 August 2027 View: 26 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editor(s)

Assoc. Prof. Xiaoxia Zhang

Email: xiaoxia.zhang@hrbeu.edu.cn

Affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China

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Research Interests: phase-change heat transfer, heat and mass transfer in energy conversion systems, electronic cooling, battery thermal management, advanced thermal control technologies

Assoc. Prof. Xusheng Hu

Email: xusheng.hu@hrbeu.edu.cn

Affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China

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Research Interests: phase change materials, thermal management, additive manufacturing, heat transfer enhancement, porous media, electronic cooling, latent heat storage

Assoc. Prof. Guantong Wang

Email: guantongwang@hrbeu.edu.cn

Affiliation: College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China

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Research Interests: nanoscale heat transfer, nanofiber fabrication, thermal management, heat sink, phonon engineering

Summary

Phase change materials (PCMs) offer superior latent heat capacity for passive temperature control and compact energy storage. However, their inherently low thermal conductivity limits transient charging/discharging rates, posing critical bottlenecks in high-heat-flux applications such as electronics cooling and battery systems. Recently, additively manufactured architectures, topology-optimized lattices and fins have emerged as thermal conductivity enhancers to enhance thermal performance in next-generation thermal devices.

This Special Issue focuses on experimental, numerical, and theoretical contributions covering pore-scale to system-level phase-change dynamics. Emphasis is placed on advanced manufacturing, topology optimization, interfacial heat transfer, and multiphysics modeling that unlock high-efficiency latent heat storage and advanced thermal management solutions for extreme or compact operating environments.

Topics include, but are not limited to:
- Multiscale heat and mass transfer in PCM composites and porous media
- Pore-scale transport, interfacial thermal resistance, and phase-transition dynamics
- Additively manufactured lattice, TPMS (triply periodic minimal surfaces), and bio-inspired structures
- Topology optimization, machine learning, and inverse design for latent heat thermal systems
- Battery thermal management, power electronics cooling, and aerospace thermal systems
- Additive manufacturing and 3D-printed structures for thermal enhancement
- Nanofiber fabrication and its application in thermal conductivity enhancement

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