Two-phase reservoir: development of a transient thermo-hydraulic model based on bond graph approach with experimental validation

Abstract

The main purpose of the project FUI THERMOFLUID is to study the feasibility of a new electronic cooling system embedded on flying objects (missile, satellite, and airplane). The technology chosen consists of a pumped two-phase flow cooling loop (PTPFL). It is an innovative technology with a transport capacity of the thermal power up to 10 MW.m, exceeding in this way the performance of all other technologies. A PTPFL is a cooling loop based on the exploitation of the latent heat properties of the fluid trapped inside the loop, and moved by a pump. The components constituting a PTPFL are: a two-phase reservoir (TP-R), a mini- channels evaporator, a brazed plate condenser, a pump and pipes. The global research work is devoted to propose a dynamic model and experimental validation of the PTPFL. The present article is exclusively dedicated to the TP-R two-phase reservoir (TP-R). Indeed this element plays a key role in the functioning of PTPFL. Historically, the TP-R did not equip the first cooling loop. However, due to its advantages its introduction was essential. The developed dynamic model will be used in another work to predict the thermal hydraulic efficiency of the PTPFL from its mechanical and fluidic parameters, to conduct the study of transitional regimes and instability problems, and provides an original tool dedicated to design the TP-R in function of the thermal power levels to be evacuated and the selected refrigerant. The bond graph methodology is adopted for modeling works because of its energetic approach and multi physics character of the studied system.