Development of an Active Electronics Enclosure Thermal Management System

As shipboard control electronics continue to evolve, electronic systems inevitably incur hardware changes. However, these system changes often require sound recertification of the electronics enclosure, which can be a very costly and time-consuming process. Therefore, it is desirable to build a silent electronics enclosure to avoid the recertification process. Mainstream proposes developing an active thermal management system for shipboard control electronics for Ohio-class submarines that can acquire heat from air-cooled components and reject it to the ambient environment. We estimate that the enclosure will operate below typical"quiet room"sound levels (40 dBA), which is less than 1/8th of currently used exposed tubeaxial fans. In Phase I, Mainstream will design the TMS, as well as experimentally demonstrate its functionality in our environmentally-controlled facilities. In Phase II, Mainstream will further optimize the cooling system and produce a pre-production environmentally-sealed enclosure with integral TMS. The proposed TMS leverages COTS components and Mainstream"s design expertise, leading to a low-risk, high-reward program capable of rapid transition to the Navy for Ohio-class submarines.