A Capillary Assisted Thermosyphon For Shipboard Electronics Cooling

• Main Author: Larsen, Eric H.
• Other Authors: NAVAL ACADEMY ANNAPOLIS MD
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Air Condition; Heating; Lighting & Ventilating; Fluid Mechanics; *THERMAL PROPERTIES; *ELECTRONICS; *COOLING; *CAPILLARITY; TEST AND EVALUATION; TEMPERATURE; NAVAL VESSELS; PERFORMANCE(ENGINEERING); WATER; ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT; ORIENTATION(DIRECTION); FLOW RATE; VERTICAL ORIENTATION; PRESSURE; SHIPBOARD; POWER EQUIPMENT; CONTAINERS; GRAVITY; LOOPS; NAVAL EQUIPMENT; TILT; EVAPORATORS; PUMPING; CPL(CAPILLARY PUMPED LOOP); THERMOSYPHON; Arctic; Tilting
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA419425; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA419425

Recent advances in capillary pumped loop technology were incorporated into the design of a vertical flat plate evaporator for cooling high power electronics aboard naval vessels. This investigation included the design, fabrication, and experimentation of an evaporator plate configured for installation into a standard Navy electronics cabinet, Combining both the characteristics of a Capillary Pumped Loop (CPL) and a thermosyphon, this design integrated the wick from a CPL and the gravity head associated with a thermosyphon. The vertical evaporator plate was designed using AutoCAD, modeled in I-DEAS, and fabricated in a computer-numerically controlled (CNC) milling machine. The effectiveness of the resulting capillary-assisted thermosyphon (CAT) loop was then evaluated by investigating the effects of subcooling and orientation TILT AND PITCH on the thermal performance The subcooling effects were studied for a range of heat loads by varying the chill water flowrate between ,.375 and 3.5 GPM, and varying the chill water temperature between 4 and 37 degrees Celsius. The heat inputs were also varied between 250 and 3200 W. Chill water temperatures were chosen that simulate the conditions of the sea that a warship would be operating in anywhere between the Arctic and the Persian Gulf. Subcooling was shown to be dependent upon chill water sink temperature and not strongly dependent upon chill water flowrate. The influence of orientation on the thermal performance of the evaporator plate was also tested by pitching and tilting the plate up to forty-five degrees of inclination and observing the operating temperatures inside the plate. Results showed that the plate operated under all tilt angles, pitch angles, and pressure restrictions imposed. The most significant influence was observed during pitch angle testing due to the geometry of the plate. The original document contains color images.