Incorporating Advanced Industry Practices into the Undergraduate Thermal System Design Course

In the face of advanced computational demands in data centers [1] and high-performance requirements in automotive [2] and aviation [3] industries, traditional undergraduate thermal system design courses, which are focused primarily on fundamental theories and classical problems, fail to bridge the gap between academic instruction and practical industry needs.Modern thermal management technologies, such as those utilized in aviation, leverage additive manufacturing to achieve complex geometric surfaces that give high heat transfer rates and surface area-to-volume ratios, yet these are absent from current curricula.To address these deficiencies, we propose a course redesign at the senior level, by introducing a new module that integrates cutting-edge thermal management technologies like triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) [4], topologically optimized surfaces [5], helical heat exchangers [6], and manifold-microchannel heat exchangers [7].The redesign also incorporates design experience via the use of INSTED [8], a userfriendly, cloud-based software package developed by TTC Technologies, Inc. [9].This tool allows us to tackle realistic thermal design challenges, thus enhancing the readiness of students for professional careers in the thermal management industry.