Transient Demonstration of a Pulse-Power Electronic Cooling

This research will develop an innovative and effective technique for the removal of heat from high heat flux electronic components. The cooling fluid is passed through micro-channels engraved in chip substrate which acts as an evaporator in a heat pump loop. The flow in micro-channels is controlled automatically by a TXV to provide subcooled nucleate boiling with no dry out in the channels. This results in a very large heat transfer coefficient and consequently low and isothermal temperature for the electronic components. Fundamental heat transfer measurements for both steady-state and transient two-phase flow in micro-channels will be performed for different combinations of operating pressure, passage size and configuration, fluid flow rate, and fluid properties. The effort will experimentally demonstrate that the proposed pulsed-power electronic cooling system has significant benefits in terms of reduced weight, increased reliability, rapid response, increased heat flux in excess of 2x10(6) W/m(2)),and increased operational flexibility when compared to alternative rapid-transient electronic cooling designs.