Study of a Loop Thermosyphon

for Thermal Control of Aircrafts

Abhinav Krishnan TK
S7 Mechanical
KKE16ME004
CONTENTS
u
Introduction
u
Avionics Equipments
u
Air craft heat Analysis
u
Thermosyphon
u
Loop Thermosyphon
u
Design & Manufacturing
u
Experimentation
u
Result & Analysis
u
Advantages
u
Scopes
INTRODUCTION
➢
The main objective of this work is to design a Evaporator of the loop thermosyphon which is
observed to remove heat from Electronics inside aeroplane which is used in avionics.
➢
The loop loop thermosyphon is working by water as working fluid.
➢
The loop thermosyphon operates in a biphasic closed loop of the working fluid
Avionics Equipments

The cockpit of an aircraft is a typical location for avionic equipment, including contro
l, monitoring, communication, navigation, weather, and anti-collision systems.

Traditionally mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic drive systems have been the tech
nology of choice on these platforms for Environmental Control Systems (ECS), and ac
tuation for engine and flight systems. These systems have proven their reliability and
capability on a variety of aircraft platforms for many years.

The majority of modern aircraft power their avionics using 14- or 28 ‑volt DC electric
al systems

More sophisticated aircraft have AC systems operating at 400 Hz, 115 volts AC.
Avionics Equipments

The cockpit of an aircraft is a typical location for avionic equipment, including contro
l, monitoring, communication, navigation, weather, and anti-collision systems.

Traditionally mechanical, hydraulic, and pneumatic drive systems have been the tech
nology of choice on these platforms for Environmental Control Systems (ECS), and ac
tuation for engine and flight systems. These systems have proven their reliability and
capability on a variety of aircraft platforms for many years.

The majority of modern aircraft power their avionics using 14- or 28 ‑volt DC electric
al systems

More sophisticated aircraft have AC systems operating at 400 Hz, 115 volts AC.
Thermal challenges of Electrification in Aircrafts
¨
For aviation platforms, the goal is to design the most high performance and lightweight systems
that exceed the required reliability standards.
¨
Recent advances in high-speed bearing technologies have enabled high-speed electrical machine
s to achieve power densities that are competitive with or better than aforementioned conventio
nal drive systems.
¨
New systems are also desired to have improved actuation control, and be “smart,” such that the
y monitor their own health.
¨
All of these demands have led to a trend where conventional systems are being replaced with el
ectrical systems
Thermal challenges of Electrification
in Aircrafts Cont...
➔
Although electrical systems are highly efficient, the sheer magnitude of on-board
power demand and unique design aspects of on-board aviation systems lead to co
nsiderable thermal management challenges.
➔
Even if a 1 MW system were to be up to 95% efficient, a total of 50 kW of heat ha
s to be removed without exceeding acceptable junction temperatures.
➔
This poses significant challenges to the thermal management system, as it has to r
emove the total capacity of waste heat with minimal temperature rise at a minimu
m of weight and volume.
Thermosyphon
✔
Thermosiphon is a method of passive heat exchange, base
d on natural convection, which circulates a fluid without t
he necessity of a mechanical pump.
✔
The principle of the thermosyphon system is that vapouris
ed liquid has a lesser specific gravity (density) than liquids,
and so being lighter will go up.
Thermosyphon
✔
Thermosiphon is a method of passive heat exchange, base
d on natural convection, which circulates a fluid without t
he necessity of a mechanical pump.
✔
The principle of the thermosyphon system is that vapouris
ed liquid has a lesser specific gravity (density) than liquids,
and so being lighter will go up.
Working
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•
When refrigerant fluid is heated
by the heat load inside a cabine
t, it starts the evaporation in th
e internal coil.
•
The coil absorbs the internal he
at from the cabinet.
•
Heating of the coil starts the cir
culation of the refrigerant.
Loop Thermosiphon
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n
In a Loop Thermosyphon, the vapor and liquid travel in th
e same direction around the loop, eliminating the floodin
g limit, and allowing much higher powers.
n
Heat is applied to the evaporator region, which is filled wi
th fluid. The heat evaporates the fluid, and the vapor flow
s through pressure difference to the condenser, where he
at is removed
n
. The vapor condenses on the internal walls of the conden
ser and the fluid flows back to the evaporator through gra
vitaty.
n
In order to avoid heat from escaping through the tube w
alls between evaporator and condenser, which would cau
se the fluid to condense before reaching the condenser, t
he tube is thermally isolated.
Loop Thermosiphon
Click icon to add picture
n
In a Loop Thermosyphon, the vapor and liquid travel i
n the same direction around the loop, eliminating the
flooding limit, and allowing much higher powers.
n
Heat is applied to the evaporator region, which is fille
d with fluid. The heat evaporates the fluid, and the va
por flows through pressure difference to the condens
er, where heat is removed
n
. The vapor condenses on the internal walls of the con
denser and the fluid flows back to the evaporator thro
ugh gravitaty.
n
In order to avoid heat from escaping through the tub
e walls between evaporator and condenser, which wo
uld cause the fluid to condense before reaching the co
ndenser, the tube is thermally isolated.
Design and Manufacturing
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n
The proposed evaporator comprises ten square stacked copper plates
bonded by diffusion.
n
Channels were manufactured in the inner plates so that internal groov
es are obtained after the stack is bonded. Thus, internal cuts were perf
ormed in each plate, except for the closing one.

n
Channel that feeds all the chambers comprises four adjacent and conn
ected subchannels with rectangular cross-sectional areas, all of them
presenting same width, equal to two times the thickness of the plate

n
The vapor outlet, situated in the top of the evaporator, also influenced
the shape of the internal plates.
 Experimentation
K-type thermocouples were positioned along with the s
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n

ystem with the purpose of monitoring the device temp

erature distribution.
n
The input power is adjusted by voltage control through
a TDK Lambda power supply (GEN 1500 W). A Lauda Pr
oline thermalbath was set at 20C to promote the coole
d water to the condenser heat removal at the heat sink.
The entire device was insulated with glass wool to avoi
d heat losses.
n
Experiments were performed varying the position of th
e heat source and the filling ratio of working fluid.
Result & Analysis
Varying Heat Source.
•

•
Although total power levels are kept the same, power density in the case of distributed heat sou
rce varies from 1.2 to 3.6 W/cm2, while in the concentrated mode, ranges from 6 to 18 W/cm2
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•
In the test with distributed heat sources (T03), start-up occurs with approximately 100 s, when
yellow line rises suddenly, suggesting that vapor has reached the condenser
•
The maximum temperature verified is 47.9C.Once orange and yellow lines run almost together a
s of 300 W,indicating the vapor line is filled by vapor.
•
Next test occurs with the evaporator wall submitted to a concentrated heat source in the center
. During all tests, the temperatures suffer intermittently variations, especially in the evaporatorw
all.
•
The highest temperature reached is 61.0C,.
Click icon to add picture
•
Varying Filling Ratio.

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Temperature as a function of time is shown for theexperiment performed with the heat source
•

placed in the rightbottom (T01) position, where the liquid level fully surpasses theheat source (6
0% filling ratio). One can see that the devicereached startup in the 200 s instant. The highest ev
aporator walltemperature was 54.1C
•
For the data presented in Fig2 (test T02), the heat source is also located in the right bottom, ho
wever, the highest liquid level is beyond the heat source (40% filling ratio). Temperature distrib
ution is presented in Fig. 17. Thermocouple 21 measures the highest temperature in the EW, wh
ich is 56.7C.
•
After achieving this temperature, geyser boiling begins. One should note that up to 360 W, befo
re geyser boiling, the vapor line is not full of vapor,since the orange line is distancing from yello
w line (partially covered by dark blue line). When geysering begins, these lines begin to fluctuat
e together suggesting higher efficiency of the device
•
Geyser boiling can eventually yield intense evaporator accelerations in loop-thermosyphons
Click icon to add picture
 Conclusion
•
In the data analyzed, one can see that the startup time ranged from 60 to 200 s, where, in the majority of the tests, i
t occurred in approximately 100 s.
•
Regarding the maximum temperature, a correlation between the heat source position and wetted wall is clear.
•
Decreasingfilling ratio implies in an earlier geyser boiling start. The results indicate that geyser boiling occurs more fr
equently with small filling ratios. Besides that, the results suggest that the amplitude of the temperatures oscillation
s decreased with increasing filling ratios.
•
Amplitude of the temperatures ures oscillations decreases with increasing heat flux at the evaporator surface, wher
eas the frequency increases.
•
Power density is a parameter which also affects the results. For the cases with distributed heat source, namely, lowe
r power density, performance of the thermosyphon demonstrates improvement. Higher power densities negatively i
nfluence thermal performance of the studied loop thermosyphon.
THANK YOU