Abstract: Reasonable heat transfer channel layout is the most effective approach to improve the heat transfer performance of small space with high heat flux. Aiming at the excessively complicated shapes of the design results and numerical instabilities, such as checkerboard phenomenon and gray level units, which exist in the current topology optimization of heat transfer structure, an adaptive topology optimization method of heat transfer channel layout based on ground structure is suggested. Construction technology of ground structure that is suitable for topology optimization problems of heat transfer structure is studied and the iterative formula satisfied Kuhn Tucker optimal criterion condition is derived. The cross sectional areas of the bar units are selected to be the design variables and the minimum of dissipation of heat transport potential capacity is the design objective. The heat transfer channels of typical two dimensional and three dimensional design problems are studied and the designed results are compared with optimization results of COMSOL software. The results show that the produced layout of the heat transfer channels is simple and clear, and the heat transfer capability is better when the adaptive topology optimization method of heat transfer structure is used in optimization processes. The suggested method is more effective than other methods in the rate of convergence. The problems of numerical instabilities happened in current optimization methods are successfully solved by the adaptive topology optimization method of heat transfer structure.

Key words: adaptive growth, ground structure, heat transfer channel layout, optimality criteria method, topology optimization