Stable pumped two-phase cooling

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12302541-B2
Application number	US-202217944641-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2022
Priority date	Sep 14, 2022
Publication date	May 13, 2025
Grant date	May 13, 2025

Abstract

Cooling systems include a cold sink having a number of heat load cooling paths and a heat load associated with each cooling path. An inlet is configured to supply a cooling fluid into the cold sink and an outlet is configured to receive the cooling fluid after passing through the plurality of heat load cooling paths of the cold sink. A pressure regulating element is arranged along each cooling path, each pressure regulating element arranged between the inlet and the heat load along each cooling path and configured to cause a pressure drop in the cooling fluid prior to passing the cooling fluid to each heat load. The pressure drop caused by each pressure regulating element is the same and is a pressure drop greater than a maximum pressure drop across each heat load of a system without such pressure regulating elements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cooling system comprising:
a cold sink comprising a plurality of heat load cooling paths;
a heat load associated with each heat load cooling path of the plurality of heat load cooling paths;
an inlet configured to supply a cooling fluid into the cold sink;
an outlet configured to receive the cooling fluid after passing through the plurality of heat load cooling paths of the cold sink; and
a pressure regulating element arranged along each heat load cooling path, each pressure regulating element arranged between the inlet and the heat load along each heat load cooling path and configured to cause a pressure drop in the cooling fluid prior to passing the cooling fluid to each heat load,
wherein the pressure drop caused by each pressure regulating element is the same and is a pressure drop greater than a maximum pressure drop across each heat load of a system without such pressure regulating elements, wherein the pressure drop of each pressure regulating element is at least ten times greater than the maximum pressure drop.

2. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid is 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (R-134a), a mixture of difluoromethane and pentafluoroethane (R-410A), 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoropropene (R-1234yf), or 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoropropane (236fa).

3. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the heat load is a powered electronics component of an aircraft.

4. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising a pump arranged upstream of the inlet.

5. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising an evaporator arranged downstream of the outlet.

6. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising an inlet manifold arranged between the inlet and the pressure regulating elements.

7. The cooling system of claim 1 , further comprising an outlet manifold arranged between the heat loads and the outlet.

8. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein each pressure regulating element is a valve.

9. The cooling system of claim 8 , wherein each pressure regulating element is an orifice along each heat load cooling path.

10. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling fluid is a liquid at the inlet and a two-phase fluid at the outlet.

11. The cooling system of claim 10 , further comprising a separator arranged downstream from the outlet and configured to receive the cooling fluid and separate such fluid into a liquid flow path and a vapor flow path, wherein each of the liquid flow path and a vapor flow path define a closed-loop system centered on the cold sink.

12. An aircraft cooling system comprising:
a plurality of aircraft heat loads; and
cooling system comprising:
a cold sink comprising a plurality of heat load cooling paths, wherein each heat load cooling path is associated with one of the plurality of aircraft heat loads;
an inlet configured to supply a cooling fluid into the cold sink;
an outlet configured to receive the cooling fluid after passing through the plurality of heat load cooling paths of the cold sink; and
a pressure regulating element arranged along each heat load cooling path, each pressure regulating element arranged between the inlet and the heat load along each heat load cooling path and configured to cause a pressure drop in the cooling fluid prior to passing the cooling fluid to each heat load,
wherein the pressure drop caused by each pressure regulating element is the same and is a pressure drop greater than a maximum pressure drop across each heat load of a system without such pressure regulating elements.

13. The aircraft cooling system of claim 12 , wherein the heat load comprises at least one power electronics component of an aircraft.

14. The aircraft cooling system of claim 12 , wherein the pressure drop of each pressure regulating element is at least ten times greater than the maximum pressure drop.

15. The aircraft cooling system of claim 12 , further comprising an inlet manifold arranged between the inlet and the pressure regulating elements and an outlet manifold arranged between the heat loads and the outlet.

16. The aircraft cooling system of claim 12 , wherein each pressure regulating element is a one of a valve or an orifice along each heat load cooling path.

17. The aircraft cooling system of claim 12 , wherein the cooling fluid is a liquid at the inlet and a two-phase fluid at the outlet.

18. A cooling system comprising:
a cold sink comprising a plurality of heat load cooling paths;
a heat load associated with each heat load cooling path of the plurality of heat load cooling paths;
an inlet configured to supply a cooling fluid into the cold sink;
an outlet configured to receive the cooling fluid after passing through the plurality of heat load cooling paths of the cold sink; and
a pressure regulating element arranged along each heat load cooling path, each pressure regulating element arranged between the inlet and the heat load along each heat load cooling path and configured to cause a pressure drop in the cooling fluid prior to passing the cooling fluid to each heat load,
wherein the pressure drop caused by each pressure regulating element is the same and is a pressure drop greater than a maximum pressure drop across each heat load of a system without such pressure regulating elements,
wherein the cooling fluid is a liquid at the inlet and a two-phase fluid at the outlet, and
a separator arranged downstream from the outlet and configured to receive the cooling fluid and separate such fluid into a liquid flow path and a vapor flow path, wherein each of the liquid flow path and a vapor flow path define a closed-loop system centered on the cold sink.

19. The cooling system of claim 18 , further comprising a pump arranged downstream from the separator and upstream of the cold sink along the liquid flow path, the pump configured to boost a pressure of the cooling fluid in the liquid flow path.

20. The cooling system of claim 18 , further comprising a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve arranged along the vapor flow path downstream from the separator and upstream from the cold sink.

Assignees

• Hamilton Sundstrand Corp

Inventors

• Turney Joseph E
• Mandel Raphael
• Ranjan Ram

Classifications

• H05K7/2039

  characterised by the heat transfer by conduction from the heat generating element to a dissipating body (arrangements for increasing/decreasing heat-transfer, e.g. fins details, F28F13/00) · CPC title

• F25B25/005

  using primary and secondary systems · CPC title

• F25B7/00

  Compression machines, plants or systems, with cascade operation, i.e. with two or more circuits, the heat from the condenser of one circuit being absorbed by the evaporator of the next circuit (F25B9/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F25B5/02

  arranged in parallel · CPC title

• F25B5/00

  Compression machines, plants or systems, with several evaporator circuits, e.g. for varying refrigerating capacity (with cascade operation F25B7/00) · CPC title