柔性热管具有较大的柔顺性，能紧密地贴合热源表面，灵活地安装在复杂的空间中，且可随热源作大范围移动，在柔性/可折叠电子器件领域中具有巨大的应用潜力。然而，现有的柔性热管在柔韧性、最大传热功率、传热效率、稳定性等方面存在许多问题，限制其应用推广。为了提高柔性热管的综合性能，本项目基于血管(维管)分形网络和脊柱多段连接结构的生物原型，提出了具有多段分形结构形式的仿生柔性热管，通过在柔性热管管道设计中引入分形设计理念提高传热效率，同时采用多段刚性结构铰接的方式实现刚性热管的大柔性变形。本项目将重点探索分段链接设计形式与热管柔顺性之间的关系，探索分叉、分段柔顺结构及三维空间扭曲行为对热管热力学性能的影响，建立分形仿生柔性热管的设计准则，平衡热管柔顺性与导热性能之间的矛盾，获得基于分形结构与分段链接结构的仿生柔性热管的设计理论与优化方法，为解决柔性/可折叠电子器件的高效散热问题提供技术支撑。

Flexible heat pipe has large flexibility, which can tightly hold on the surface of heat source, flexibly install in complex space and freely move with the motion of heat source. Therefore it has great potential in the application of flexible/foldable electronic devices. However, the existing flexible heat pipes have many problems in flexibility, maximum heat transfer power, heat transfer efficiency, stability and so on, which limits its application and popularization. In order to improve the comprehensive performance of flexible heat pipe, this project proposes a bionic flexible heat pipe with multistage and fractal characteristics based on the structures of fractal vascular network and the multistage connection of spine. In the design of flexible heat pipe, the fractal design is introduced to improve the heat transfer efficiency and the large flexible deformation of rigid heat pipe is realized by using multistage structure. This project focuses on exploring the relationship between the multistage design and the flexibility of heat pipe and the influences of fractal characteristic, multistage structure and 3D spatial bending behavior on the thermodynamic performance of heat pipe. The design criteria of fractal flexible bionic heat pipe will be established and the contradiction between the flexibility and thermal performances of flexible heat pipe will be solved. Finally, the design theory and optimization of bionic flexible heat pipe based on fractal and multistage structures will be obtained, which provides technical support for the efficient heat dissipation of flexible/foldable electronic devices.