Flow ADMS and Flow Direction

Why standard ADMS is not optimal for fluid flow

Standard ADMS has two continuous labyrinth channels with near-equal resistance. For heat exchangers, this is generally good. But the channels are not specifically shaped to guide fluid in any particular direction. Fluid takes the path of least resistance through the labyrinth, which may not align with the intended flow path through the heat exchanger.

This produces uneven pressure distribution and higher overall pressure drop than a geometry specifically designed around the flow direction.

What Flow ADMS does

When a Flow Direction field is assigned, the Spherene engine switches from standard ADMS to Flow ADMS generation. Flow ADMS produces a geometry where:

The internal channel shapes are optimised to guide fluid along the defined flow direction.
Labyrinth resistances are balanced between the two channels.
Pressure drop is minimised compared to standard ADMS or gyroid at equal thermal performance.

In benchmarks, Flow ADMS achieves more than 20% lower pressure drop than an equivalent gyroid-filled heat exchanger at equal thermal performance. Against conventional plate heat exchangers, SphereneHEX (the heat exchanger product built on Flow ADMS) achieves up to 3x size reduction.

Direction (X, Y, Z): the dominant flow direction through the heat exchanger. Must be a non-zero vector.
Magnitude (W): how strongly the geometry aligns with the defined direction. W = 0 produces isotropic Flow ADMS (balanced labyrinths, no directional preference). W = 7 means 70% of the surface follows the defined direction.

Flow Direction: the field that activates Flow ADMS

Flow Direction is a vector field, the same concept as Scatter Vector. You define:

Any computation that includes at least one Flow Direction field assignment automatically generates Flow ADMS instead of standard ADMS. You do not need to set a mode or switch explicitly.

Isotropic vs directional Flow ADMS

W value	What it produces	When to use
0	Isotropic Flow ADMS. Balanced labyrinths, no directional preference.	When you want the pressure drop optimisation but do not have a defined dominant flow direction, or are using a complex curved heat exchanger shape.
1 to 4	Mild directional alignment. Most of the surface is isotropic with some flow guidance.	Gentle flow paths, moderate directional preference.
5 to 7	Strong directional alignment. Most flow follows the defined axis.	Straight-through heat exchangers with a clear primary flow direction.
7 to 10	Near-maximum alignment. The geometry is heavily biased toward the flow axis.	Maximum pressure drop reduction for a defined flow direction.

Flow ADMS and standard ADMS: which to use

Application	Recommended geometry
Heat exchanger or cooling channel	Flow ADMS (assign a Flow Direction field)
Filter or fluid permeable structure	Flow ADMS
Structural lightweighting (no fluid)	Standard ADMS
Energy absorption / crash structure	Standard ADMS
Part with both structural and thermal requirements	Consider separate sub-volumes: standard ADMS for structural zones, Flow ADMS for thermal zones

Note: Flow ADMS and Scatter Vector cannot be applied to the same field point in the current version. They use different generation modes. If you need both in the same part, use separate envelopes or assign them to different spatial regions.

Multifunctional performance

Flow ADMS maintains the core ADMS structural advantages alongside the fluid optimisation. A Flow ADMS heat exchanger simultaneously delivers:

Structural stiffness from the ADMS wall geometry.
Vibration damping from the continuous minimal surface structure.
Acoustic performance from the open labyrinth architecture.
Thermal management from the Flow ADMS channel optimisation.

All in a single printed part, without combining multiple separate components.