Alliant Techsystems Inc.

Orbital Atk, Inc.

Swales & Associates, Inc.

Swales Aerospace

The United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of the

David A Wolf, Sr

Edward J Kroliczek

Michael Nikitkin

Kimberly R Wrenn

David C Bugby

James S Yun

James Seokgeun Yun

A thermodynamic system includes a cyclical heat exchange system and a heat transfer system coupled to the cyclical heat exchange system to cool a portion of the cyclical heat exchange system. The heat transfer system includes an evaporator. The evaporator includes a wall configured to be coupled to a portion of the cyclical heat exchange system and a primary wick coupled to the wall. The heat transfer system further includes a condenser coupled to the evaporator to form a closed loop that houses a working fluid.

Thermodynamic system including a heat transfer system having an evaporator and a condenser

A heat transfer system includes an evaporator having a heated wall, a liquid barrier wall containing working fluid, a primary wick positioned between the heated wall and an inner side of the liquid barrier wall, a vapor removal channel located at an interface between the primary wick and the heated wall, and a liquid flow channel located between the liquid barrier wall and the primary wick. Methods of transferring heat include applying heat energy to a vapor barrier wall, flowing liquid through a liquid flow channel, pumping the liquid from the liquid flow channel through a primary wick, and evaporating at least some of the liquid at a vapor removal channel.

Evaporators for heat transfer systems

A two-phase heat transfer system includes an evaporator, a condenser, a vapor line, and a liquid return line. The evaporator includes a liquid inlet, a vapor outlet, and a capillary wick having a first surface adjacent the liquid inlet and a second surface adjacent the vapor outlet. The condenser includes a vapor inlet and a liquid outlet. The vapor line provides fluid communication between the vapor outlet and the vapor inlet. The liquid return line provides fluid communication between the liquid outlet and the liquid inlet. The wick is substantially free of back-conduction of energy from the second surface to the first surface due to an increase in a conduction path from the second surface to the first surface and due to suppression of nucleation of a working fluid from the second surface to the first surface to promote liquid superheat tolerance in the wick.

Evaporators including a capillary wick and a plurality of vapor grooves and two-phase heat transfer systems including such evaporators

A system includes a primary evaporator facilitating heat transfer by evaporating liquid to obtain vapor. The primary evaporator receives a liquid from a liquid line and outputs the vapor to a vapor line. The primary evaporator also outputs excess liquid received from the liquid line to an excess fluid line. A condensing system receives the vapor from the vapor line, and outputs the liquid and excess liquid to the liquid line. The excess liquid is obtained at least partially from a reservoir. A primary loop includes the condensing system, the primary evaporator, the liquid line, and the vapor line, and provides a heat transfer path. Similarly, a secondary loop includes the condensing system, the primary evaporator, the liquid line, the vapor line, and the excess fluid line. The secondary loop provides a venting path for removing undesired vapor within the liquid or excess liquid from the primary evaporator.

Thermal management systems including venting systems

A heat transfer system includes a primary evaporator, a condenser to the primary evaporator by a liquid line and a vapor line, a secondary evaporator connected to the primary evaporator through a sweepage line, and a reservoir system. The reservoir system includes a reservoir, a first flow directional device that restricts fluid from flowing into the reservoir from the primary evaporator, and a second flow directional device that restricts fluid from flowing out of the reservoir through at least one output of the reservoir.

Reservoir systems including flow directional devices, heat transfer systems including reservoir systems and related methods

Evaporator for a heat transfer system

A thermodynamic system includes a cyclical heat exchange system and a heat transfer system coupled to the cyclical heat exchange system to cool a portion of the cyclical heat exchange system. The heat transfer system includes an evaporator including a wall configured to be coupled to a portion of the cyclical heat exchange system and a primary wick coupled to the wall and a condenser coupled to the evaporator to form a closed loop that houses a working fluid.

Heat transfer system

A system including a primary evaporator facilitating heat transfer by evaporating liquid to obtain vapor is disclosed. The primary evaporator receives a liquid from a liquid line and outputs the vapor to a vapor line. The primary evaporator also outputs excess liquid received from the liquid line to an excess fluid line. A condensing system receives the vapor from the vapor line, and outputs the liquid and excess liquid to the liquid line. The excess liquid is obtained at least partially from a reservoir. A primary loop includes the condensing system, the primary evaporator, the liquid line, and the vapor line, and provides a heat transfer path. Similarly, a secondary loop includes the condensing system, the primary evaporator, the liquid line, the vapor line, and the excess fluid line. The secondary loop provides a venting path for removing undesired vapor within the liquid or excess liquid from the primary evaporator.

Thermal management systems

Thermal management system

A method of making an evaporator includes orienting a vapor barrier wall, orienting a liquid barrier wall, and positioning a wick between the vapor barrier wall and the liquid barrier wall. The vapor barrier wall is oriented such that a heat-absorbing surface of the vapor barrier wall defines at least a portion of an exterior surface of the evaporator. The exterior surface is configured to receive heat. The liquid barrier wall is oriented adjacent the vapor barrier wall. The liquid barrier wall has a surface configured to confine liquid. A vapor removal channel is defined at an interface between the wick and the vapor barrier wall. A liquid flow channel is defined between the liquid barrier wall and the primary wick.

Manufacture of a heat transfer system

A capillary wick for use in capillary evaporators has properties that prevent nucleation inside the body of the wick, resulting in suppression of back-conduction of heat from vapor channels to the liquid reservoir. Use of a central liquid flow channel in the wick is eliminated, and pore size in the wick is chosen to maximize available pressure for fluid pumping, while preventing nucleation in the wick body. The wick is embodied with different geometries, including cylindrical and flat. A flat capillary evaporator has substantially planar heat input surfaces for convenient mating to planar heat sources. The flat capillary evaporator is capable of being used with working fluids having high vapor pressures (i.e., greater that 10 psia). To contain the pressure of the vaporized working fluid, the opposed planar plates of the evaporator are brazed or sintered to opposing sides of a metal wick. Additionally, a terrestrial loop heat pipe and a loop heat pipe having overall flat geometry are disclosed.

Wick having liquid superheat tolerance and being resistant to back-conduction, evaporator employing a liquid superheat tolerant wick, and loop heat pipe incorporating same

A capillary pump two phase heat transport system that combines the most favorable characteristics of a capillary pump loop (CPL) with the robustness and reliability of a loop heat pipe (LHP). Like a CPL, the hybrid loop has plural parallel evaporators, plural parallel condensers, and a back pressure flow regulator. Unlike CPLs, however, the hybrid system incorporates elements that form a secondary loop, which is essentially a LHP that is co-joined with a CPL to form an inseparable whole. Although secondary to the basic thermal management of the system thermal bus, the LHP secondary loop portion of the system provides for important operational functions that maintain healthy, robust and reliable operation. The LHP secondary loop portion provides a function of fluid management during start-up, steady state operation, and heat sink/heat source temperature and power cycling.

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Baltimore, MD, United States of America

David A Wolf, Sr