United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Lanchao Lin

John E Leland

Richard Harris

Rengasamy Ponnappan

A passive thermal spreader and method of fabrication are disclosed. The passive thermal spreader includes a heat transfer plate formed from laminated plates including an internal sealed thermosyphon defined within the interface of the plates. The preferred embodiment of the passive thermal spreader selected to illustrate the invention includes a pair of distinct thermosyphons defined within the interface of three laminated, stacked plates. Each thermosyphon includes a plurality of channels arranged boustrophedonically. Each of the channels includes an elongate straight portion and an end turn portion for connection to the adjacent channel elongate straight portion. Each elongate straight portion includes a channel divider. The channel divider directly contributes to the high performance of the thermal spreader of the present invention by assisting the transport of the working fluid.

Passive thermal spreader and method

A finned heat exchanger is disclosed. The heat exchanger includes a unitary fin array with a multiplicity of fin banks. Each of the fin banks include a plurality of raised, folded fins for heat transfer. The fin banks extend in a transverse direction and are spaced apart in a longitudinal direction. The fin banks are retained within the fin array by looped expansion turns. The fin array is mounted on a dielectric substrate base. A closed flow channel for directing a flow of coolant is created by adding a cap to the substrate base.

Finned heat exchanger

A passively cooled electromechanical actuator is disclosed. The passively cooled electromechanical actuator includes a rotor having an output shaft rotatably received within a stator. A pair of inner supports connect the stator to a pair of mounting platforms. The mounting platforms are attached to the inner surfaces of an aircraft wing and are in thermal communication therewith. A pair of closed, capillary tube thermosyphons containing a working fluid are in thermal communication with the stator, the inner supports and the mounting platforms. During operation, the thermosyphons receive heat from the stator and transport it to the mounting platforms whereupon it is convected or radiated to the atmosphere from the aircraft wings. The inner supports have a phase change material received within for providing temporary thermal energy storage during transient conditions.

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Beavercreek, OH, United States of America

Lanchao Lin