Experimental Validation of Thermal-Adjoint Topological Optimization for Cooling Plate Design

This study explores the application of topology optimization (TO) to enhance cooling plate designs in electrical propulsion systems used in automotive and aerospace applications. The optimization process aims to minimize an objective function that balances thermal dissipation and mechanical losses. Starting with a cooling plate exposed to multiple heat sources and featuring electronics on both sides, the study generates optimized liquid circuit shapes, which are then manufactured and compared to a manually designed geometry. Experimental results confirm that TO-inspired designs significantly improve both thermal and mechanical performance, demonstrating the practical advantages of TO in real-world applications while adhering to thermal, pressure, and manufacturing constraints.