A FOAM-BASED HEATING PLATE WITH VARIABLE THROUGH-THICKNESS THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY

摘要

We describe a heating plate whose thermal conductivity has been purposefully graded such that aparticular pattern of heat flux and upper surface temperature is established when the temperatureon its lower side is held at constant temperature. In practice, working prototypes have been madeand characterized by inserting stainless steel pins with specified length and cross-section intorigid structural foams using a suitably modified CNC machine. In general, the key designparameters are the thermal characteristics of the constituent materials, and the pin geometry andspacing. The methods developed here could quite easily be extended to different applicationsincluding drug screening and aerospace thermal management of systems.