Journal profile · Engineering, Mechanical
Journal of Thermal Science
ISSN 1003-2169 · eISSN 1993-033X · Science Press · PEOPLES R CHINA · Quarterly · Founded 1992
Journal of Thermal Science: CAS Zone 4 · Engineering (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.22; subscription journal; APC about USD 3,090; median 113 days to acceptance (25 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 135 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Thermal Science is published by Science Press and is in Zone 4 of Engineering in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Turbomachinery Performance and Optimization, Combustion and flame dynamics and Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent Flows, together about 28.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Mechanical Engineering and Computational Mechanics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Founded in 1992, JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCE, an international multi-disciplinary journal of energy and power sciences in English language sponsored by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, publishes high quality papers of original work on experimental, numerical and theoretical investigations from contributors throughout the world.The scope of the Journal covers the following aspects: engineering thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, aerothermodynamics of internal flows, heat and mass transfer, combustion and reaction; sustainability of energy systems; energy conservation and storage; energy efficiency and climate change mitigation; renewable energy; nuclear energy; building, urban and distributed energy systems; cooling and refrigeration, heat pump; transport energy and emissions; operation, diagnostics and control of energy systems; energy policy and management. Review papers and scholarly research articles of high scientific/technical quality related to the development, advancement, and improved understanding of energy, power and environment sciences are sought. The Journal also incorporates technical notes, short communications, and discussions on previous published papers.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Engineering, Mechanical
Editorial board by country: 68 in mainland China (about 73%); most named Mainland China 68, Italy 4, United States 3, United Kingdom 3, Japan 3 (93 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Turbomachinery Performance and OptimizationEngineering10.7%
- Combustion and flame dynamicsEngineering9.2%
- Fluid Dynamics and Turbulent FlowsEngineering8.7%
- Heat Transfer MechanismsEngineering8.4%
- Heat Transfer and OptimizationEngineering6.4%
- Refrigeration and Air Conditioning TechnologiesEngineering5.7%
- Computational Fluid Dynamics and AerodynamicsEngineering5.6%
- Advanced Combustion Engine TechnologiesChemical Engineering4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Engineering Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Engineering Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Thermodynamics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Engineering, Mechanical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexINSPECCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.22LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.65LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- h-index
- 22LetPub ·
- h-index
- 49OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 977OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.01OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 1.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 132LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 120,900Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,930 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 143 | 3 | 26 |
| 2025 | 135 | 8 | 523 |
| 2024 | 167 | 11 | 1,234 |
| 2023 | 174 | 11 | 1,639 |
| 2022 | 218 | 22 | 2,124 |
| 2021 | 126 | 12 | 1,473 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
113 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 74 days – 141 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 100 days (25 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 221 days
- Sample
- 25 articles with submission and acceptance dates (321 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,090 / EUR 2,490 / GBP 2,190 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Journal of Thermal Science, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Science Press
- Country or region
- PEOPLES R CHINA
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1992
- ISSN
- 1003-2169
- Electronic ISSN
- 1993-033X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 35, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Thermal Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Thermal Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Thermal Science is in Zone 4 of Engineering, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Engineering, Mechanical / Thermodynamics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Engineering. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Thermal Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.22; CiteScore 5.3, h-index 49.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Thermal Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 25 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 113 days (interquartile range 74–141 days); authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Thermal Science based?
Of the 93 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 68 (about 73%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (68), Italy (4) and United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Thermal Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Thermal Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, INSPEC and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Thermal Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Thermal Science is a subscription journal. APC about USD 3,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .