SIMAI 2025

RBF-FD Meshless Solution of 3D Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer in TPMS-based Heat Exchangers

  • Bacer, Luca (University of Trieste)
  • Zamolo, Riccardo (University of Trieste)
  • Munerato, Mauro (ESTECO SpA)
  • Nobile, Enrico (University of Trieste)

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Triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are increasingly popular in engineering due to their advantageous properties. Specifically, TPMS-based heat exchangers can achieve high performance when properly designed. This paper examines the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of different types of TPMS lattices using a Radial Basis Function-generated Finite Difference (RBF-FD) method [1]. This numerical approach is well-suited to the complex, maze-like architectures of TPMS, allowing for accurate and automated thermo-fluid simulations. By assuming generalized fully developed conditions for both fluid flow and heat transfer [2], the computational domain can be reduced to a single periodic module, enhancing accuracy and reducing computational effort. In this work, the real potential of the meshless approach is fully exploited through the use of an adaptive approach for the generation of the computational node distributions, whereby the node density is automatically increased or decreased by means of suitable error indicators. This study highlights the potential of the RBF-FD approach in the accurate simulation of 3D thermo-fluid problems, providing a comprehensive characterization of these structures under laminar and steady-state conditions for different Reynolds numbers. REFERENCES [1] B. Fornberg and N. Flyer. Solving PDEs with radial basis functions, Acta Numerica, 24:215-258, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962492914000130 [2] S. V. Patankar, C. H. Liu and E. M. Sparrow. Fully Developed Flow and Heat Transfer in Ducts Having Streamwise-Periodic Variations of Cross-Sectional Area, Journal of Heat Transfer, 99(2), 180-186, 1977. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3450666