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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
Electrified aircraft offer advantages in operating cost & maintenance, energy economy, noise, and emissions, and with the increased heat dissipation demands due to modern avionics, thermal management is more critical than ever. Fuel has been the traditional heat sink for aircraft, but its heat sink capacity has been stressed by increased heat dissipation loads. For electrified aircraft, this heat sink may not exist, or may not be accessible where waste heat is generated. Therefore, alternate heat sink concepts using ambient air have been considered, including liquid cooling on the outer mold line (OML) or via heat exchangers with ducted air. Direct OML cooling is preferred, as it does not add drag, but OML cooling complicates the thermal sizing, since its performance is dependent on location, speed, altitude, and angle-of-attack. This is tractable, but the biggest issue lies with the mismatch between heat load and cooling performance. Thus, it would be desirable to augment the heat dissipation capacity at takeoff. One means of accomplishing this is to make use of the propellers on the aircraft, which are adjacent to a major heat source: the electric motors. Their distribution also provides cooling access at multiple points on the aircraft, reducing the need to transport waste heat or cooling fluids. Micro Cooling Concepts has a history in creating ultra-thin high-performance heat transfer structures and will leverage this experience to develop propeller-integrated cooling concepts that are constructed of aluminum or titanium and would either wrap around an existing blade or are developed as an integral part of the propeller. The program will consist of integrated cooling design studies, cooling loop interface development, and prototype thermal test article fabrication. This effort supports the NASA goal of reducing the mass and increasing the efficiency of heat acquisition and rejection components and advancing technologies for more electric aircraft.
Technology applicable to any NASA program where heat exchangers are required, and where weight has a significant impact on system performance. Examples include: Advanced Air Transportation Technology (AATT) Transformational Tools and Technologies (TTT) Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) Ultra-Efficient Commercial Vehicles Transition to Low-Carbon Propulsion
Lightweight, compact, conformal heat exchangers have uses across a wide range of applications. Impact cannot be overstated as applicability to military and commercial sectors is vast. Energy / Transportation / Space
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