Modeling and optimization of a thermosiphon for passive thermal management systems

• Main Author: Loeffler, Benjamin Haile
• Published: Georgia Institute of Technology 2013
• Subjects: Thermosiphon; Optimization; Multiphysics model; Passive thermal management; Thermodynamics; Smart power grids; Electric power distribution Automation
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1853/45960

An optimally designed thermosiphon for power electronics cooling is developed. There exists a need for augmented grid assets to facilitate power routing and decrease line losses. Power converter augmented transformers (PCATs) are critically limited thermally. Conventional active cooling system pumps and fans will not meet the 30 year life and 99.9% reliability required for grid scale implementation. This approach seeks to develop a single-phase closed-loop thermosiphon to remove heat from power electronics at fluxes on the order of 10 - 15 W/cm2. The passive thermosiphon is inherently a coupled thermal-fluid system. A parametric model and multi-physics design optimization code will be constructed to simulate thermosiphon steady state performance. The model will utilize heat transfer and fluid dynamic correlations from literature. A particle swarm optimization technique will be implemented for its performance with discrete domain problems. Several thermosiphons will be constructed, instrumented, and tested to verify the model and reach an optimal design.