Thermal management system for more electric aircraft avionics using evaporative spray cooling

Abstract

The aerospace industry is performing in today’s market at a narrow margin in achieving system performance and operating costs. The avionics is consuming a decent amount of energy for electronic equipment which heats up and releases heat into the system. The effective cooling system is required to be designed for aero applications which play a major role in reducing weight and operating costs. Jet impingement has been an attractive cooling option in several industries over the past few decades. Over the years, jet impingement has been explored as a cooling option in microelectronics. The main purpose of this study is to explore the potential of the evaporative spray cooling method from a modelling perspective in more electric aircraft avionics, primarily from a heat transfer viewpoint. Boiling and evaporative liquid jets provide high heat transfer coefficients (> 20,000 W/m2 K), which makes them attractive for electronic cooling applications. A zero-dimensional methodological approach is proposed, and its effectiveness is confirmed via a sensitivity analysis of different coolants with variable Reynolds no. and heating plate diameter to nozzle diameter ratio on the designed system heat load dissipation capability.