I-Corps: A Lightweight, Low-Cost, Liquid-Metal Cooling Vest for Prolonged Cooling

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为高温工作环境开发个人冷却系统，例如造船厂、铸造厂、锅炉车间以及工人暴露在高温下的采矿和建筑工地。在医疗、体育、应急响应、军事和动物护理领域还存在其他潜在市场。该产品将在全球个人降温服装市场展开竞争。这个i-Corps项目是基于一种基于导热的冷却循环技术的开发，该技术使用了高导热的流体金属--镓合金。镓合金在室温下是液态的，通常被称为液态金属(LM)。由于其流体性质，可以使用低功率泵将LM泵入微流控通道。此外，与基于对流的冷却循环不同，LM的导电性(16.5W/m.K)是水的28倍，后者有助于在一秒钟内通过传导吸收热量。传统的制冷冷却循环需要高耗能的压缩机来减少换热时间。基于低功率传导的热传递和微流控液流使液膜可以用作新型个人冷却系统的主要冷却剂。其成果是一种轻型、低功率、低成本、可穿戴在LM上的个人冷却系统，可以提供一整天的高冷却。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a personal cooling system for high-heat work environments such as shipyards, foundries, boiler workshops, and mining and construction sites where workers are exposed to heat exhaustion. Additional potential markets exist in medical, sports, emergency response, military, and animal care fields. The product will compete in the global personal cooling garment market. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a conduction-based, cooling cycle technology using highly thermally conductive fluidic metal, gallium alloy. Gallium alloy is liquid at room temperature and is commonly known as liquid metal (LM). Due to its fluidic nature, LM can be pumped into a microfluidic channel using a low-power pump. Also, LM is 28 times more conductive (16.5W/m·K) than water, which helps absorb heat in a second by conduction, unlike the convection-based cooling cycle. Conventional refrigeration cooling cycles require a high power-consuming compressor to reduce heat transfer time. Low power conduction-based heat transfer along with microfluidic LM flows allow the LM to be used as the primary coolant in the novel personal cooling system. The outcome is a lightweight, low-power, low-cost, LM wearable personal cooling system that can provide day-long high cooling.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.