Thermal Management Program

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Advance Naval Power  (ANP) thrust is focused on providing integrated power systems and components that optimize power density, power quality and timely delivery to loads with high efficiency. The ANP thrust consists of five programmatic areas: power generation, energy storage, distribution and control, thermal management and motors  and actuators. The electronic solid state power conversion equipment used in the DDG-1000’s integrated power system will produce heat loads beyond those in today’s electrical distribution systems. The introduction of additional advanced high-power electronics for phased-array radars and electromagnetic weapons will produce significantly higher heat loads. The shipboard thermal system is the largest integrated system on today’s ships and is expected to grow significantly on future platforms. Advancement in high-heat flux thermal management technology and its integration into future Navy ships is critical for future power electronic systems.

ONR’s Thermal Management Program invests in basic and applied research in the areas of high-flux heat transfer and advanced HVAC systems. Specific areas of interest include:

• Fundamental studies and physics-based models of evaporative cooling, including  heat transfer and critical heat flux
• Understanding and control of two-phase flow in complex geometries, including  pressure drops and flow instabilities
• Enhancement of heat transfer through interfacial engineering
• Advanced thermal fluids for convective heat transfer
• Development of higher efficiency, smaller and lighter HVAC system architectures
• Alternative (nonvapor compression) refrigeration systems for distributed cooling
• Multiscale, thermal models of electronic systems and ship-level thermal simulations
• Concepts for waste heat reuse to enhance ship cooling and provide thermal energy storage