Work

Effect of surface roughness on the thermal behavior of Schwarz-D TPMS lattice structures

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In additive manufacturing (AM), triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures are widely employed to construct compact, high-performance heat exchangers (HEs). However, surface roughness inherent to AM represents a major challenge for the practical application of TPMS heat exchangers. This study employs artificial surface roughness based on a perturbation-based model to replicate surface irregularities, thereby evaluating the effects of AM-induced surface roughness on heat transfer and fluid flow performance. The simulation results indicate that the roughness amplitude parameter A and spatial wave number w 2 will induce local convective heat transfer coefficient h concentration. The larger the A and w 2 , the stronger the concentration effect is. The performance evaluation shows that the TPMS lattice structure without surface roughness can achieve the highest overall heat transfer coefficient U , while exhibiting the lowest pressure drop. In terms of performance evaluation criterion j hot f hot 1 / 3 , structure without surface roughness outperforms others. This work demonstrates that the roughness-induced geometric deviations have a significant influence on thermo-hydraulic performance. For the investigated cases, the increased hydraulic penalty outweighs the heat transfer enhancement.

Source: International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer

DOI: 10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2026.112426

Authors: Shiming Gao, Haoming Mo, Junjie Yao, Shuo Qu, Junhao Ding, Xu Song

Institutions: Zhejiang University of Water Resource and Electric Power, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Language: English

Topic: Heat Transfer and Optimization

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,560

Funder: University Grants Committee