Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: To address the U.S. Navy"s need for innovative thermoelectric cooling augmentation fo

Description

To address the U.S. Navy"s need for innovative thermoelectric cooling augmentation for the E 2D liquid cooling system, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a solid-state Advanced Liquid Cooling System augmentation module based on TEC and an extended surface liquid heat sink. The design innovations provide an additional PAO temperature drop (delta T = 5 degrees F) upstream of the existing E-2D LCS inlet. This drop results from innovations that significantly reduce parasitic energy losses in a semiconductor structure (up to 75%), optimization of the cooling medium rate in the TEC (25% of total PAO flow), improvements in the thermal performance of the heat sink (62.5% compared with conventional technologies) and a low system turn-on time. The ALCS"s rugged modular design and reliance on mature fabrication technologies offers high reliability with a minimum MTBF of 6,800 hours. In Phase I, POC plans to design this module via CFD modeling and experimental research. A TRL-3 proof-of-concept prototype capable of removing 1,000 Btu/hr of thermal load will be assembled and tested to demonstrate feasibility of the ALCS. Refinement of this design will lead to a TRL 6 13,000 Btu/hr prototype in Phase II capable of accurately regulating the temperatures in the cooling loop