Nanofluids for Heat Transfer Enhancement in Aircraft Systems

The Air Force is seeking new cooling technologies that will provide improved heat transfer performance that results in a significantly lighter and smaller heat exchange system to support the increasing demand for heat removal in modern engineering designs used in military aircraft systems. In the current Phase I SBIR program, METSS has clearly demonstrated the feasibility of improving the efficiency of existing heat transfer fluids through the incorporation of nanoparticle dispersions. In the proposed Phase II program, METSS plans to build upon the Phase I efforts as well as extensive experience and knowledge with heat transfer fluids gained from a related Air Force radar coolant program to successfully develop stable, easily prepared, aircraft nanofluid coolants with significantly improved thermophysical properties. This new heat transfer fluid technology will become an integral component of future thermal management systems. This approach emphasizes commercial participation and the use of commercially available products to develop nanofluid formulations with improved thermal conductivity relative to conventional fluids. The enhanced heat transfer performance of these nanofluids will be clearly quantitated relative to the conventional heat transfer carrier fluid. Other key properties of the nanocoolant will also be evaluated and compared to the base heat transfer fluid.