Sierra-Nevada Research and Development, Inc. proposes to develop a composite material for the production of high performance, compact heat exchange devices. The composite will have a relatively high thermal conductivity coupled with a very high effective heat capacity. This technology will allow for the design of small, high-performance heat exchange devices that are insensitive to variations in heat load: are inexpensive to manufacture, and: are more universally applicable than conventional heat exchangers because the composite can readily be made to conform to complex shapes. Furthermore, since liquids or gases are not involved, the thermal performance of this material will be insensitive to g-loading or ambient pressure level. Because of the high thermal performance that can be achieved, exchange devices or structures can be designed for applications where: spatial or temporal temperature uniformity is required (such as with phased array radar antennas), or high localized cooling is required (spot cooling of power electronics). Anticipated Benefits and
Potential Commercial Applications: Process temperature control, avionics, electronics temperature control
