Rapid Prototyping Custom Phase Change Heat Exchanger

The Department of Defense’s Anti-Radiation Homing Missile (AARGM-ER) has strict operating temperature requirements for its onboard electronics. During the mission, the electronics must not exceed an 85°C operating temperature. From the current baseline designs, the thermal management solution volume must be reduced by at least half and must not weigh more than 21.75 lb, requiring a high-performance, low weight solution. To meet these strict requirements, Giner will develop and test a prototype phase change heat exchanger which combines heat spreading fins and metal foam embedded with phase change material (PCM). The approach will ensure that the electronics do not exceed their maximum operating temperature and that the heat load is fully absorbed. The metal foam will increase bulk material thermal conductivity. The metal fins will decrease the temperature gradient through the PCM heat exchanger while promoting convection. The design will ensure accelerated regeneration, decreasing deployment time. The PCM heat exchanger size and weight reductions will increase AARGM-ER mission capability. The refined design tools will greatly reduce development time for future PCM heat exchanger designs on size and weight sensitive aerospace platforms. The highly responsive design will also be deployed in highly transient commercial thermal storage applications, reducing building energy consumption.