Improved design tools for thermosyphon based thermal management systems

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The overall objective of this project, in collaboration with Mersen Canada, is to develop engineering design**tools for thermosyphon based thermal management systems. Thermosyphons are passive two phase heat**transport devices; evaporating a working fluid in heated regions and condensing it in cooled regions, to transfer**heat with very small thermal resistance. Mersen Canada designs and develops thermal management systems**that use thermosyphons for high power electrical systems. The systems typically consist of heat spreaders that**are attached to the heat source (electrical system), thermosyphons that transfer the heat from the spreader to the**condenser end and a heat exchanger that rejects the heat from the condenser end to the ambient. One challenge**in any new thermal management system design is characterizing and predicting the performance of the**thermosyphons under the given operating conditions. Another important consideration is understanding the**factors that cause failure of the thermosyphons. A major drawback in the current design methodologies is the**lack of reliable engineering models, especially for the types of thermosyphons that Mersen currently uses in**their thermal management systems. This is further exacerbated since many of Mersen's applications are at high**heat flux and/or under extreme environmental conditions. In this project, mechanistic models for the types of**thermosyphons that Mersen uses will be developed. Experiments will be performed to characterize the**performance of the thermosyphons and validate the models. In addition, methods will be developed to improve**the performance of the heat spreaders to reduce the effect of hot spots due to local heat generation from the**electrical systems. Computational models will be developed to simulate the heat transfer characteristics of the**large scale natural convection heat exchangers used on the condenser of the thermal management systems.