## 1 Introduction  
Nickel-based superalloys, such as Inconel 718, are widely employed in the aircraft industry thanks to their outstanding mechanical properties at high temperatures [1]. However, they present a relatively high density, which raises the total weight of the components. Hence, the use of lattice-type structures has been employed recently to reduce the relative density of these components [2]. Lattice structures are defined as regularly repeated patterns that propagate in all directions and are based on unit cells. This nature, combined with the hollow voids between the struts, promotes a considerable reduction in the amount of material per unit volume compared to the equivalent solid component [3]. Hence, they enable a holistic mass reduction in systems where mass and volume savings are the main design drivers, i.e., aerospace or automotive systems. The development of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, and mainly PBF-LB, has opened up a range of new opportunities as it enables the manufacturing of complex geometries at no cost increase [4], as well as control over the anisotropy of the deposited material and an increase in design freedom [5]. For instance, [PERSON] et al. concluded that the use of lattice structures when manufacturing components via PBF-LB could reduce the manufacturing cost by 53.7% and the manufacturing time by 54.3%, and it results in an overall reduction in weight of 52.5% [6]. Moreover, the use of lattice structures reduces the amount of material deposited in the process and hence optimizes the manufacturing time and the cost of production [7]. Consequently, a great deal of research effort has recently been focused on this field. For example, [PERSON] et at. studied the viability of manufacturing lattice structures and they concluded that topology selection enables a coarse mechanism for the tuning of the structural strength and stiffness [8]. Similarly, researchers have explored the potential applications of lattice structures in thermal systems. [PERSON] et al. reviewed the heat transfer applications of these structures, where heat exchangers, heat sinks, and heat pipes are highlighted [9]. [PERSON] et al. investigated experimentally the thermal performance of composite samples with different unit cell topologies [10]. They analyzed different cell units under different gravity orientations, and the body-centered cubic (bcc) sample showed the lowest effective conductivity in the Z direction, as no struts were manufactured in this direction, and its thermal conductivity was the same in the three analyzed directions (X, Y, and Z). However, this is the result of employing a non-distorted structure, and any elongation of the lattice structure would produce asymmetric behavior. Topology optimization strategies are possible also to improve the heat conduction capabilities of lattice structures. [PERSON] et al. included design-dependent loads in the design optimization tool based on finite elements [11], but it was employed only in 2D cases, and the applicability of the results was focused on electronic components. Similarly, [PERSON] et al. proposed a topology optimization technique to maximize the thermal diffusivity of thermal conductors [12], but dendritic-shaped structures were generated to maximize the thermal diffusivity. [PERSON] et al. presented a strategy based on level set modeling to maximize the thermal diffusivity in heat transfer issues with design-dependent boundary conditions [13]. The obtained algorithm was based on finite elements and enables one to design thermally optimized 2D lattice structures, but the thermal behavior of full lattice components was not studied; this would imply an extremely high computational cost. The most commonly employed simulation approach is the numerical one, because it offers high flexibility while providing accurate results.