An Experimental Study of High Heat Flux Removal Using Micro-Droplet Spray Cooling

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that thermophotovoltaic (TPV) technology is a promising source of high power density generation. Enhanced TPV systems can theoretically provide power densities of up to 100 W/cm2. The inherent ineffiencies in the system dictate that up to 90% of that energy is not converted to electrical power, and must be removed as waste heat to ensure that the components are maintained at a reasonable operating temperature. The present study addresses this issue by investigating the suitability of using spray cooling techniques to remove heat generated by power densities of up to 100 W/cm2. A simple, scaleable experiment was designed using low cost commercially available components to study the effects that spray mass flux and droplet size have on the heat removal capacity of the system. A series of nozzles were used so that mass flux and droplet size could be studied independently, giving high resolution to the data so that predictive correlations could be developed over the range of parameters varied in the study.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA417423

Entities

People

  • Matthew A. Cryer

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Data Acquisition
  • Energy
  • Flow Rate
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Flux
  • Heat Transfer
  • Latent Heat
  • Mass Flow
  • Nucleate Boiling
  • Pressure Gages
  • Resistance
  • Surface Properties
  • Surface Roughness
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Thermal Conductivity

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Systems Analysis and Design