Extreme thermal shock in space exploration poses a critical threat to orbital spacecraft, as conventional thermal protection structures cannot concurrently resist concentrated thermal effects under shock and ensure efficient heat dissipation during routine operation. Herein, we propose a ceramic-liquid alloy composite lattice metastructure as an integrated architecture achieved through the synergistic hybridization of a rigid ceramic framework and a functional liquid alloy, with its performance validated via integrated numerical and experimental studies. The thermal properties of the metastructure are “programmed” by designing two key geometric parameters: the fineness ratio of the lattice and the volume fraction of the liquid alloy. Through this approach, a significant enhancement in heat dissipation efficiency was achieved, along with a broadly tunable equivalent thermal conductivity ranging from 0.437 to 6.209 W/(m·K).
A Novel Ceramic-Liquid Alloy Lattice Metastructure for Thermal Protection in Aerospace Applications
