Project

Context

Thermal management is a key enabler of hybrid propulsion and needs the introduction of innovative cooling technologies with enhanced performances and improved integration capabilities.

Pulsating Heat Pipe (PHP) is a promising solution to enable thermal management improvement for such applications.

Although their physics has been broadly studied in the past years, work is still needed to well understand the complex phenomena that can occur in PHPs and how their geometry and operating condition can impact their performance.

The full 3D simulation of a PHP is at high cost because of the different scales involved, and it remains out of reach for industrial applications. Therefor, there is a need for quick-to-use simplified models. This is the point of PHP2 project.

Goals

The PHP2 project aims to develop robust tools to predict the thermal and fluidic behavior of pulsating heat pipes, and to improve the knowledge of the physical phenomenon involved.

Three parts that support each others :

  • The creation of a mathematical macro-model : this pre-design tool should be able to predict the performance of a PHP knowing it’s main characteristics (geometry and operating conditions) within seconds. It’s a mathematical model based on artificial intelligence and does not deal with the physical phenomenon. It is trained with data bases obtained in the two other parts.
  • The development of a detailed physical model : this 1D model should be able to predict not only the performance but also the physical phenomenon (such as dry-out) that can occur in a PHP. It takes into account complex physical behavior such as bubble interaction, nucleation or the effect of liquid film. A simulation takes several hours. This tool provides data for the mathematical model and is validated by the experimental study.
  • An experimental study : the impact of different parameters is evaluated through a design of experiment. The performance and physical behavior are studied on the test bench designed for the project. An innovative joining method is develop and a new metal x-ray machine is used to photograph the internal flow in a non destructive manner.

CleanSky 2

This project is part of CleanSky 2 project.

For further information, you can go to the concerned website : http://www.cleansky.eu/