Diamond-Aluminum (DI/Al) Composite for Beryllium Electronic Heatsink Replacement (Proposal No. PVG04-053)

The Exoatmospheric Interceptor Kill Vehicle (EKV) is a key element of the Global Missile Defense (GMD) system for defense against threat reentry vehicles. The EKV Electrical Conversion Unit (ECU) and the Electronics Unit (EU) use high power electronics, which generate significant waste heat during flight, and require Thermal Management (TM) methods to transport heat away from the electronic components to maintain design operating temperatures. The current EKV TM approach uses beryllium heatsinks adjacent to the electronic boards to store waste heat. Beryllium provides high TM performance, but the MDA/GMD and Raytheon are exploring alternatives for cost reduction and improved producibility. No single material matches the high thermal conductivity (High-k) and high thermal capacity (High-Cp) properties of beryllium on a weight basis. A hybrid design approach for lightweight design solutions using combinations of materials and designs provides the required High-k/ High-Cp combination. A program is proposed to develop and demonstrate hybrid designs using High-k diamond particulate-reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite (Di/Al) in combination with High-Cp materials, such as Phase Change Material (PCM), to replace beryllium heatsinks thermal management applications. A Phase I program will demonstrate the feasibility of the hybrid design approach using Di/AL and High-Cp materials as an alternative to beryllium for the EKV ECU and EU heatsink applications. A follow-on Phase II program would develop and demonstrate the hybrid design for full-scale interceptor electronics heatsink components by developing designs and manufacturing processes, fabricating full-scale test articles, and conducting thermal testing to demonstrate performance.