LIGHTWEIGHT COOLING COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IS TO IMPROVE THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE THE WEIGHT OF HEAT EXCHANGERS USED IN MILITARY COMBAT VEHICLES. THIS OBJECTIVE SHALL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY USING TECHNOLOGY THAT ATSS HAS DEVELOPED AND APPLIED IN THE DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF COMPACT-ACTIVELY COOLED STRUCTURES FOR USE IN HIGH HEAT FLUX ENVIRONMENTS. THIS TECHNOLOGY INVOLVES ETCHING SMALL PASSAGES IN LAMINATED METAL FOILS AND SUBSEQUENT DIFFUSION BONDING OF THE FOIL LAMINATES TO FORM COMPACT AND LIGHTWEIGHT HEAT EXCHANGERS.ANALYSES INDICATES THAT, RELATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL HEAT EXCHANGER DESIGNS, OVER A FACTOR OF FIVE REDUCTION IN CORE VOLUME CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH PROPOSED DESIGN/FABRICATION TECHNIQUES. WEIGHT REDUCTIONS WILL DEPEND ON THE METAL USED IN THE CURRENT NAVY SYSTEMS.