THE COLUMBIA GROUP INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N221-052

Description

The standard US Navy cooling system provides 44°F chilled water throughout the ship. The US Navy seeks an innovative heat pump to support development of a distributed cooling architecture and topology where centralized chillers provide 67°F cooling water (instead of the 44°F chilled water). The water temperature is then reduced at point-of-service to 42-44°F (where needed) for air conditioning purposes. The net result is a more efficient cooling system onboard. Team TCG believes the most viable solution is a thermoelectric module. The thermal performance requirements for the low hazard heat pump are demanding. The design approach is to make use of a thermoelectric water to water module. This design approach is based on a trade study conducted by Team TCG which demonstrated that Thermoelectric modules would be the preferred solution over a more traditional mechanical refrigeration cycle. Team TCG proposes to design a thermoelectric heat pump to meet the requirements of the low hazard heat pump. In Phase I, a subscale test device will be constructed. The Phase I system will be tested at Team TCG facilities. The Phase I test device will collect the following data for each of two different manufacturer’s thermoelectric modules: -Heat transfer as a function of voltage applied and the fluid temperature differential. -Coefficient of performance as a function of water temperature and applied voltage (current). -Determination of the thermal resistance between the thermoelectric cell and the fluid (water). The collected data will be used to determine the minimum physical heat transfer volume to obtain the required COP for the Phase II prototype. The total heat transfer volume includes the thermoelectric stack and cold plates. The required volume will then be used to create a 3D model with a physical arrangement that meets the dimensional requirements.