SBIR-STTR Award

Advancements in electronic warfare driven by sophisticated sensors and weapons are pushing shipboard power distribution systems to higher voltage, more power dense solutions. Reduced cost and increased flexibility necessitate solutions that are rapidly scalable and are characterized by longer life and lower maintenance. These objectives are in conflict, as increased power density reduces life and increases maintenance due to thermal stress on the components. PCKA, teamed with Purdue University, is proposing a novel thermal management solution to address these challenges in order to achieve the Navys long-term objectives. The primary objective of the Phase I will be to design and demonstrate through analytical modeling a novel concept for cooling of high voltage, wide band gap power electronic topologies. PCKA and Purdue will leverage combined expertise in power electronic and thermal management system design to develop the proof-of-concept using advanced modeling and simulation tools. The design will be verified using these high confidence predictive models providing justification for hardware procurement and prototype build in the Phase II. An optimized package at the completion of the Phase II will ensure a successful transition to numerous hardware applications in both military and commercial space in Phase III.

Benefit:
The resultant thermal management solution will provide numerous benefits to the Navy, including: (1) reduced cost through increased life cycle of components, (2) reduced cost through maintenance minimization, (3) enhanced system capability enabled by increased power densities, (4) improved war fighting capability enabled through additional sensors and weaponry, and (5) improved predictive capability through validated modeling and simulation tools. In addition to the direct benefits to the Navy, there are numerous potential customers of such capability for both commercial and military platforms. Power dense solutions are of particular interest for aerospace applications where weight is a substantial driver on vehicle performance. High voltage power electronic solutions are in use across all the services branches and will continue growth over near and long-term horizons, necessitating thermal management solutions such as those proposed by the PCKA and Purdue team. The commercial application space has exploded in recent years with a massive influx of electric vehicles and requisite charging infrastructure, necessitating dramatic improvements in power electronic cooling to improve charging times and increase vehicle performance. Combined with expanding renewable energy and associated storage demands, the benefit to the commercial space is apparent.

Keywords:
high voltage, high voltage, Thermal Management, Simulink, MATLAB, cold plate, DC/DC, SiC, Electronics Packaging

Advancements in electronic warfare driven by sophisticated sensors and weapons are pushing shipboard power distribution systems to higher voltage, more power dense solutions. Reduced cost and increased flexibility necessitate solutions that are rapidly scalable and are characterized by longer life and lower maintenance. These objectives are in conflict, as increased power density reduces life and increases maintenance due to thermal stress on the components. PCKA is proposing a novel thermal management solution to address these challenges in order to achieve the Navys long-term objectives. PCKA successfully demonstrated the novel cooling approach in the Phase I Base analytically, with electrical performance improvements quantified. The primary objective of the Phase II will be to build, test, and demonstrate the proposed concept in hardware. Design iterations will be made in order to reduce cost, complexity, and risk with a focus on transition of the technology to Navy applications. An optimized package at the completion of the Phase II will ensure a successful transition to numerous hardware applications in both the military and commercial space in Phase III.

Benefit:
The resultant thermal management solution will provide numerous benefits to the Navy, including: (1) reduced cost through increased life cycle of components, (2) reduced cost through maintenance minimization, (3) enhanced system capability enabled by increased power densities, (4) improved war fighting capability enabled through additional sensors and weaponry, and (5) improved predictive capability through validated modeling and simulation tools. In addition to the direct benefits to the Navy, there are numerous potential customers of such capability for both commercial and military platforms. Power dense solutions are of particular interest for aerospace applications where weight is a substantial driver on vehicle performance. High voltage power electronic solutions are in use across all the services branches and will continue growth over near and long-term horizons, necessitating thermal management solutions such as those proposed by PCKA. The commercial application space has expanded in recent years with a massive influx of electric vehicles and requisite charging infrastructure, necessitating dramatic improvements in power electronic cooling to improve charging times and increase vehicle performance. Combined with expanding renewable energy and associated storage demands, the benefit to the commercial space is apparent.

Keywords:
Electronics Packaging, cold plate, SiC, Simulink, DC/DC, high voltage, Thermal Management, MATLAB