Lightweight Two-Phase Pumped Cooling System with Aluminium Components produced with Additive Manufacturing

Date

2019-07-07

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

49th International Conference on Environmental Systems

Abstract

The amount of waste heat that is generated in electronic components in aerospace application is increasing because of higher electrical power demands. As a result, conventional cooling methods are not able to maintain the electronic component below its maximum temperature. For this reason, a two-phase Mechanically Pumped Fluid Loop has been developed for high-power electronic components in a commercial aerospace application. These electronic components generate a waste heat of 1200 W that is divided over several hotspots while the temperature gradient over the component has to be kept to a minimum. The developed cooling system uses R245fa as refrigerant and is made from aluminum components produced with additive manufacturing. The use of this novel production technique results in an unprecedented low system mass (2.5 kg) and small system dimensions. Measurements show that the system has an excellent thermal performance and is able to cool 2400W.

Description

Henk Jan van Gerner, Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), Netherlands
Marc de Smit, Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), Netherlands
Johannes van Es, Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), Netherlands
Maxime Migneau, Thales Avionics Electrical Systems SAS, France
ICES202: Satellite, Payload, and Instrument Thermal Control & Thermal Testing
The 49th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA on 07 July 2019 through 11 July 2019.

Keywords

R245fa, two-phase, pumped cooling system, thermal control pump, aluminum, 3D printing, Additive Manufacturing (AM)

Citation