Advanced Thermal Management for Aircraft Systems

Future weapons systems on advanced aircraft will generate large amounts of heat at intense heat fluxes. Advanced thermal management technology is needed to control the temperatures of these components with systems that are compact enough for service on aircraft. We propose to develop a thermal management system to meet these requirements using two innovative elements: two-phase cooling will enable a very compact system, and microchannel heat exchangers will absorb heat efficiently at high heat fluxes. In Phase I we will assess design requirements for multiple missions and identify the common challenges for a compact cooling system. We will then design two-phase, microchannel components to cool high heat flux components and show by analysis and design that these components will enable temperature control in advanced weapons systems using a compact system that uses ram air as the ultimate heat sink. In Phase II we will design, build, and demonstrate a subscale version of the proposed system.