Orientation Independent Refrigerant Phase Separator

Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) proposes the development of an orientation independent, momentum-driven vortex separator for use with shipboard two-phase thermal management systems. This separator will produce sufficient fluid rotational speed to generate a centrifugal acceleration field within the liquid phase that is orders of magnitude higher than gravitational acceleration. This will allow for a stable liquid-vapor interface within the separation chamber despite changes in the local acceleration environment due to ship roll. The inlet and separation chamber design will be optimized to produce the necessary centrifugal acceleration field with minimal pressure drop. In Phase I, a subscale prototype will be fabricated and testing. Scaling of the Phase I prototype to higher flow rates will be evaluated analytically.