TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Materials/Processes

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; ACAT I

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals, their country of origin, and what tasks each would accomplish in the statement of work in accordance with section 3.5.b.(7) of the solicitation.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate effective methods for determining the thermal capacity of the remaining fuel as a heat sink.

DESCRIPTION: Aircraft have become more and more dependent on fuel as a heat sink due to the availability of its thermal properties to efficiently reject heat off of the aircraft. Fuel temperatures within the air vehicle are starting to reach limits that adversely affect avionics (engine controls), structure (fuel tank sealing), and pumps (engine fuel pumps). As a result, fuel thermal management has become a necessity in flight in order to prevent performing a mission that results in either a mission abort or the loss of aircraft. Currently, the plan has been to model all of the mission heat loads post design and create flight limitations that predict an estimated mission time limit. The ability of the war fighters to determine true mission capability would be greatly enhanced by the successful completion of this topic to actively predict fuel thermal capacity in flight.

PHASE I: Develop a method for determining thermal capacity of remaining fuel quantity heat sink in real time. Demonstrate the feasibility of the method by developing an analytical thermal capacity model.

PHASE II: Provide practical implementation of the method developed under Phase I. Evaluate and demonstrate the approach by validating models with flight test data. Develop a Thermal Capacity Model for the F-35's Thermal Management System (TMS) and Integrated Heat loads.

PHASE III: Transition the approach to appropriate platforms and additional propulsion and high temperature applications such as hypersonic platforms.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The onboard capability for the air vehicle to measure the amount of cooling capacity available from the fuel heat sink in order for a pilot to determine the ability to complete a flight before thermal shortfall occurs in real time could be helpful tor newer commercial airframes with higher heat loads.

REFERENCES:
1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Chemical and Physical Information of JP-5 and JP-8 Jet Fuels. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp121-c3.pdf

2. Hill , Bernie P., Lin, Tsugin & Ho, Y. W. Bill (1997). Thermal Benefits of Advanced Integrated Fuel System Using Jp-8+100 Fuel. Anaheim, CA: World Aviation Congress & Exposition, Session: Subsystems I. http://www.sae.org/technical/papers/975507

KEYWORDS: Thermal Management; Real Time Modeling; Thermal Capacity; Mission Planning; Heat Sink; Heat Load

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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