The complex network of veins that keeps us cool during the heat of summer has inspired engineers to create novel thermal management systems. A new computer program could be key to mimicking the body’s evolution-optimized cooling system in functional materials.
Microvascular fiber-composites are currently being developed to cool everything from electric vehicles to next-generation aircraft, where increasingly higher performance is turning up the heat they generate.
A microvascular carbon-fiber composite was created using 3D printing. After heating the carbon-composites to a maximum temperature, liquid coolant was pumped through each vascular network to begin the cooling process.
