TDA RESEARCH, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N181-019

Description

Air cooled exchangers are used in the V-22 Osprey and many other platforms where they provide a critical thermal management function. During operation, the outside environment brings in the dust, grime, oil and sand which can foul the heat exchanger surface. Deposits on the surface create an insulating layer that increases the thermal resistance and reduces the process efficiency. Regular maintenance of the heat exchanger is required to clean off the surface, reducing military readiness by the taking aircraft out of the service and consuming funds on maintenance activities that could otherwise go for active missions. In this SBIR project, TDA will develop a hydrophobic and oleophobic surface coating that would repel dirt and fouling to prevent it from building up in the first place. The coating will be applied as a thin film layer, uniformly across the heater exchanger fins in a low-cost industrial process. In the Phase I project, we will demonstrate that the coating has hydrophobic/oleophobic properties, measure heat transfer properties across a coated test panel, and characterize its physical properties.