THERMAL MANAGEMENT HAS BECOME A MAJOR DESIGN CONSTRAINT IN ELECTRONIC AND HIGH-PRECISION DEVICES AS THEY ARE MINIATURIZED AND THEIR PERFORMANCE IS INCREASED.

THERMAL MANAGEMENT HAS BECOME A MAJOR DESIGN CONSTRAINT IN ELECTRONIC AND HIGH-PRECISION DEVICES AS THEY ARE MINIATURIZED AND THEIR PERFORMANCE IS INCREASED. IN APPLICATIONS WHERE PASSIVE (CONDUCTION) COOLING IS REQUIRED, THE DEVICE DESIGNER IS FACED WITH THE DILEMMA OF CHOOSING A MATERIAL THAT HAS THE THERMAL RESISTIVITY REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN THE DESIRED LOCAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE WHEN THE THERMAL HEAT FLUX VARIES, BOTH IN LOCATION AND IN TIME. A COMPROMISE MUST BE MADE THAT RESULTS IN MECHANICALLY-DISTORTING TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS, DEVICE COMPLEXITY AND REDUCED PERFORMANCE. A PROPRIETARY NEW STRUCTURAL MATERIAL HAS BEEN CONCEIVED AT RASOR ASSOCIATES THAT AUTOMATICALLY VARIES ITS LOCAL THERMAL RESISTIVITY TO MAINTAIN A NEAR-CONSTANT TEMPERATURE OVER ITS BOUNDARIES FOR A WIDE RANGE OF HEAT FLUXES. VARIOUS POTENTIAL FORMS OF THIS MATERIAL INCLUDE ELECTRICAL INSULATORS AND CONDUCTORS, RIGID OR FLEXIBLE. IN THE PROPOSED PHASE I WORK, AN ANALYTICAL MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED THAT DESCRIBES THE EFFECT OF THE MATERIAL DESIGN VARIABLES ON ITS THERMAL PROPERTIES. THE VALIDITY OF THE MODEL WILL BE TESTED VIA AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF THE MATERIAL THAT USES READILY AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL COMPONENTS. THE DATA AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES DEVELOPED THEN WILL BE USED TO EVALUATE PROSPECTS, AND TO PREPARE A DETAILED PHASE II PLAN, FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC FORMS OF THIS MATERIAL THAT ARE USEFUL IN NAVAL WEAPONS SUPPORT CENTER APPLICATIONS.