Development of an Active Electronics Enclosure Thermal Management System Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Topic No.: N122-130 Topic Title: Development of an Active Electronics Enclosure Thermal Management System Proposal No.: N122-130-0908 Firm: Mainstream Engineering Corporation 200 Yellow Place Pines Industrial Center Rockledge, Florida 32955-5327 Contact: David Sykes Phone: (321) 631-3550 Web Site: www.mainstream-engr.com Abstract: As shipboard control electronics continue to evolve, electronic systems inevitably incur hardware changes. However, these system changes often require sound recertification of the electronics enclosure, which can be a very costly and time-consuming process. Therefore, it is desirable to build a silent electronics enclosure to avoid the recertification process. Mainstream proposes developing an active thermal management system for shipboard control electronics for Ohio-class submarines that can acquire heat from air-cooled components and reject it to the ambient environment. We estimate that the enclosure will operate below typical "quiet room" sound levels (40 dBA), which is less than 1/8th of currently used exposed tubeaxial fans. In Phase I, Mainstream will design the TMS, as well as experimentally demonstrate its functionality in our environmentally-controlled facilities. In Phase II, Mainstream will further optimize the cooling system and produce a pre-production environmentally-sealed enclosure with integral TMS. The proposed TMS leverages COTS components and Mainstream's design expertise, leading to a low-risk, high-reward program capable of rapid transition to the Navy for Ohio-class submarines. Benefits: The development of the proposed thermal management system will allow retrofits and new designs of control electronics to be enacted, while avoiding costly sound recertification testing. Other military applications for this technology include airborne transfer racks, signal intelligence systems, and electronic surveillance equipment. Additionally, the technology that will be developed in this effort can be transitioned to the commercial market, especially in the computing industry, where rack-mounted servers and computer clusters have ever-increasing cooling requirements. Return