Advanced Manufacturing of Flexible Oscillating Heat Pipes for Next-Generation Thermal Straps

Thermal straps provide a method of dissipating heat to a thermal sink in the challenging space environment. A novel device, the flexible and enhanced active thermal strap (FEATS), has the potential to deal with high heat flux cooling needs of future electronics as current state-of-the-art straps are not sufficient. The enhanced strap incorporates an oscillating heat pipe (OHP) as well as a modular system of thermoelectric devices to drastically increase thermal performance. A FEATS prototype was developed and tested. These results will be presented along with a discussion of the advantages/disadvantages of OHPs and the FEATS approach. Finally, examples of how these technologies can be used in practice will be provided.