Thermal Cloak with Switchable Manipulating Direction Based on Linear Transformation Thermotics
Abstract
Thermal metamaterials, especially invisibility cloaks, have been attracting more and more attention due to their powerful manipulation on heat transfer. Here, we design a diamond shaped thermal cloak based on linear transformation thermotics. In contrast to the same shaped electromagnetic cloak that functions in only x direction, the proposed thermal cloak may function in both x and y directions. More interestingly, the manipulating direction is switchable, depending on whether the inner layer of the thermal cloak is a thermal insulator or a thermal superconductor. This is not possibly achievable for the same shaped electromagnetic cloak. It changes the usual perception that transformation thermal metamaterials are just a direct and simplified derivative of the transformation-optic counterpart. We experimentally validate the proposed design, which agrees well with the simulation results. The proposed methodology may open a new avenue to manipulating the Laplacian fields.