Advanced Foam-Based Cryogenic Heat Exchanger Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2012.2 Topic No.: N122-128 Topic Title: Advanced Foam-Based Cryogenic Heat Exchanger Proposal No.: N122-128-1019 Firm: Ultramet 12173 Montague Street Pacoima, California 91331-2210 Contact: Arthur Fortini Phone: (818) 899-0236 Web Site: www.ultramet.com Abstract: Cryogenic heat exchangers for cooling gaseous helium are hampered by the fact that helium is a low-density gas. As a result, heat transfer coefficients tend to be low. To compensate for this, Ultramet will design and fabricate an open-cell foam-based heat exchanger using technology that was originally developed for high-power microwave integrated circuits for naval radars. In that application, heat fluxes over 1 kW/cm2 were absorbed by the foam while simultaneously maintaining a surface temperature of only 53�C. Using the models that were developed in that work, an analogous system will be developed using low-cost, high thermal conductivity foams. By using foams to create a compact heat exchanger, the heat exchange surface area can be increased by two orders of magnitude relative to a parallel-plate heat exchanger, and the overall effectiveness of the heat exchanger can be increased by roughly a factor of five. Benefits: The proposed technology can be used wherever a compact, high-efficiency heat exchanger is needed. Applications include cooling high-power electronics and regeneratively cooled rocket engines. Cryogenic applications for high-efficiency heat exchangers include superconducting magnets for particle accelerators and high temperature superconducting power cables used for power delivery systems. Return