Highly Efficient and Compact Microclimate Cooling System for Encapsulated Personal Protection Ensemble

RTI proposes to develop a lightweight, compact, reliable and efficient microclimate cooling system that can provide heat stress relief to individuals operating under hazardous conditions or in elevated temperatures while wearing protective clothing. Thiswill be accomplished with recent advances in miniaturization and MEMS. The performance of this system cannot be matched by simply integrating smaller versions of currently available components. This effort is expected to lead to, at the end of Phase II, amicroclimate system that can remove 130 Watts of heat requiring 40 Watts of electrical power, and weighs around 3.5 pounds (not including the water jacket or the power source) within a volume of about 600 cc or 0.6 L. The Phase I effort will focus onsystem analysis as well as the key components of the system, namely a rotary compressor and a compact condenser with pin fin heat exchanger for heat rejection. Detailed testing, development of the other components and system integration will be performedunder Phase II. The proposed microclimate cooling system will provide heat stress relief, improve operational performance and reduce water consumption for soldiers and first responders working under hazardous conditions. This compact cooling system alsohas a wide ranging commercial applications, including cooling of computers, lasers and high power electronics. There is also a variety of medical applications where the patients require cooling. These include multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis and severeburns.