Speaker
Description
An electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pump for Pumped Loop applications has been developed by APR Technologies, a Swedish SME, and has been demonstrated in an engineering model loop. The pump provides sufficient pumping power for smaller pumped loops, with a power consumption below 4 W in ON mode and no power consumption in OFF mode. As the pump has no moving parts, it experiences no mechanical wear and creates no vibrations.
Using this pump, an engineering model of a single-phase pumped loop designed to transport at least 100 W across a distance of 1 m with a delta-temperature of 40 K has been designed, built and tested in a project for the European Space Agency, within the Artes programme. Apart from the pump, the loop engineering model consists of tubing, tubing support, two heat exchangers and a metal bellows accumulator.
The heat exchanger design has been optimised for use with the EHD pump by minimising the internal pressure drop, while maintaining a uniform flow rate over the thermal interface surface through the use of microchannels.
The test results show a performance which exceeds the requirements in most operating points, with a thermal conductance of up to 15 W/K in the hot case. In addition to thermal performance tests, the engineering model test campaign also includes mechanical testing, thermal vacuum testing and destructive physical analysis at the end of the test campaign.
The design of the full loop and all ingoing parts is presented, along with test results from the engineering model test campaign.
