A passive heat switch device is disclosed that includes a casing defining a closed channel, as well as a passive thermal actuator and liquid slug positioned inside the closed channel. The closed channel includes a heat conducting region made of a heat conducting material and an insulating region made of an insulating material. The passive thermal actuator is thermally coupled to the heat conducting material of the heat conducting region and extends into the insulating region of the closed channel. The passive thermal actuator deforms when an actuator temperature falls within a switching temperature range. The liquid slug is positioned within the closed channel and contacts at least a portion of the passive thermal actuator and the closed channel and is configured to move along the closed channel between the insulating region and the thermally conductive region in response to deformation of the passive thermal actuator.

A heat transfer device includes a first member and a first and second heat transfer element. In the first heat transfer element, a first contact area that is a contact area between the first heat transfer element and the first member varies. In the second heat transfer element, a second contact area that is a contact area between the second heat transfer element and the first member varies. The first contact area is greater when magnitude of a first external force applied to the first member is smaller than a first threshold than when the magnitude of the first external force is equal to or greater than the first threshold. The second contact area is smaller when the magnitude of the first external force is smaller than the first threshold than when the magnitude of the first external force is equal to or greater than the first threshold.

A variable fin stack for cooling components in a chassis of a portable information handling system. The variable fin stack comprises a first array of fins coupled to a first conduit and a second array of fins coupled to a second conduit. When the chassis is in a compact configuration for use in a mobile mode, fins in the second array of fins are positioned between fins in the first array of fins and the chassis maintains a form factor. When the chassis is in an expanded configuration for use in a workstation mode, the second array of fins is withdrawn from the first array of fins and the increased surface area provides increased cooling of components operating at higher power levels.

Embodiments described herein generally relate a multi-mode heat transfer system. The heat transfer system includes an emitter device. The emitter device includes an inner core, a composite material pattern, and a surface coating pattern. The inner core is surrounded by an outer core having a thickness and an outer surface. The composite material pattern extends through at least a portion of the outer surface and at least a portion of the thickness of the outer core and is thermally coupled to the inner core. The surface coating pattern is on the outer surface and is changeable between a low emissivity state and a high emissivity state based on a surface temperature of the emitter device. In the low emissivity state, the emitter device transmits an omni-directional radiation and, in the high emissivity state, the emitter device transmits a focused radiation via the composite material pattern.

A shape-morphing fin includes a fixed portion, a multistable portion, a coupling portion, and a vibration source. The multistable portion functions as a negative stiffness element. The multistable portion is selectively movable between a first position and a second position. The movement between first position and the second position is configured to remove the ice formation from the structure. The coupling portion couples the fixed portion to the multistable portion. The vibration source is configured to produce a resonant vibration to engage the movement of the multistable portion from the first position to the second position.

A laser emitter assembly that has a laser emitter and a support for the laser emitter. The support has a multiplicity of layers. One of the layers is a thermomechanical door that is designed to thermally regulate the laser emitter. A LiDAR system, to the power supply of which the laser emitter assembly is operatively connected, is also described.

The invention relates to a sensible heat storage apparatus that comprises a core material that can be heated to a high temperature while it has been placed in a heat transfer fluid that absorbs essentially all the heat that is lost by any heat leakages from the core material. Accordingly, there is a very low, or almost absent overall heat loss, even though the sensible heat storage apparatus can store heat at a very high temperature. The gist of the invention is further that the high amount of heat can gradually be transferred to the HTF, which heat can in turn be put to use for domestic applications (e.g. domestic hot water and/or space heating) or for steam generation.

Self-regulating thermal insulation includes one or more thermal actuators that expand and contract in response to changes in temperature adjacent the thermal insulation, thereby automatically changing the thermal resistance of the thermal insulation. In this manner, a self-regulating thermal insulation may be configured to locally adjust in response to local changes in temperature of a part being insulated, for example, during curing or some other manufacturing process. Such self-regulating thermal insulation may be configured to respond to temperature changes without feedback control systems, power, or human intervention. Methods of making self-regulating thermal insulation include coupling a first plate with respect to a second plate using a support structure, thereby defining an insulation thickness therebetween, positioning an internal partition positioned between the first plate and the second plate, and positioning at least one thermal actuator positioned between the second plate and the internal partition.

Electrically controlled solid-state thermal switches and methods of controlling heat flow. An electrostrictive material is electromagnetically coupled to first and second electrodes that provide an electric field to the electrostrictive material. Different portions of the electrostrictive material are thermally coupled to each of a heat sink and a thermal load so that heat flowing from one into the other passes through the electrostrictive material. A control voltage is applied to the electrodes to selectively generate the electric field, thereby selectively altering the thermal conductivity of the electrostrictive material. The heat sink and thermal load are thereby selectively thermally coupled to each other in dependance on the control voltage.

Thermal control systems that include variable conductivity metamaterial units are provided. The metamaterial unit a plurality of thermally conductive plates, a plurality of first bonds, each of which connects two adjoining thermally conductive plates, and a plurality of second bonds, each of which connects two adjoining thermally conductive plates. Also included is a load inducer constructed to cause the plurality of thermally conductive plates to move between a non-contact state, in which opposing surfaces of the plurality of thermally conductive plates are not in direct contact, to a contact state, in which the opposing surfaces of the plurality of thermally conductive are in at least partial direct contact, so as to change a thermal conductivity of the metamaterial unit from a first value to a second value. Through the ability to design the effective thermal conductivity as a function of temperature a passive thermal control capability is achieved by the introduction of thermal stability regions that will passively ensure thermal stability.