Innovative Heat Sink Technology for Application to Aircraft Systems Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2011.2 Topic No.: N112-093 Topic Title: Innovative Heat Sink Technology for Application to Aircraft Systems Proposal No.: N112-093-0432 Firm: SPIRITECH Advanced Products, Inc. 731 N US Highway 1 Suite 1 Tequesta, Florida 33469 Contact: Nick Pearson Phone: (561) 741-3441 Web Site: www.spiritech.cc Abstract: This Phase I program proposes use of a Heat Exchanger / Reactor (HEX Reactor) to address thermal management challenges for next generation fighter aircraft. In the proposed application, a HEX Reactor converts excess heat energy into storable energy by harnessing the large energy requirements of endothermic decomposition reactions. The HEX Reactor is scalable and may be employed within current cooling systems or tailored specifically for other high thermal load applications. This Phase I program will establish feasibility of this concept. The Phase I OPTION will fabricate and test the concept to experimentally demonstrate its feasibility. The Phase II program will further develop the concept into a detailed system and will mitigate risks identified in the Phase I through testing of prototype devices and component hardware. Benefits: The HEX Reactor developed and validated in Phases I and II provides an additional heat sink to thermal management systems (TMS), increasing mission capability of next generation fighter aircraft. This concept provides an order of magnitude increase in performance over existing supplemental TMS, enabling technologies with high power requirements such as DEWs. This technology is applicable to existing tactical aircraft, providing a solution for portions of flight envelopes where current TMS technology is incapable of providing sufficient cooling. The proposed technology can be generalized for commercial aircraft, with applicability to numerous types of manned and unmanned systems. Although the market is limited in numbers, the HEX Reactor technology is scalable to many applications, allowing technology maturation costs to be shared. Potential customers include both military (Air Force, Navy, Army, NASA, and DARPA) and commercial (aircraft, propulsion) customers. Return