Thermal management system
OwnerRodger W. Dyson, Jr.inventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermal management system for an aircraft is provided that includes thermo-acoustic engines that remove and capture waste heat from the aircraft engines, heat pumps powered by the acoustic waves generated from the waste heat that remove and capture electrical component waste heat from electrical components in the aircraft, and hollow tubes disposed in the aircraft configured to propagate mechanical energy to locations throughout the aircraft and to transfer the electrical component waste heat back to the aircraft engines to reduce overall aircraft mass and improve propulsive efficiency.
Claims17
An apparatus, comprising:
- a thermo-acoustic engine comprising a first heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a second heat exchanger disposed in a pulse tube, wherein the first heat exchanger is maintained at a higher temperature than the second heat exchanger by exposure to heat from a gas turbine engine of an aircraft, wherein the thermo-acoustic engine is configured to generate an acoustic wave within the pulse tube;
- an acoustic tube configured to receive the acoustic wave;
- and
- a thermo-acoustic heat pump configured to receive the acoustic wave via the acoustic tube, wherein the thermo-acoustic heat pump comprises a first heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a second heat exchanger disposed in a pulse tube, wherein the first heat exchanger is maintained at a higher temperature than the second heat exchanger due to the acoustic wave performing work to transfer heat from the second heat exchanger to the first heat exchanger, wherein the heat transferred via the acoustic wave is generated by a second heat source connected to the second heat exchanger.
A method of utilizing waste heat from an aircraft engine comprising:
- generating an acoustic wave via a thermo-acoustic engine using exhaust of the aircraft engine to create a thermal gradient within the thermo-acoustic engine;
- providing, via an acoustic waveguide, the acoustic wave to a thermo-acoustic heat pump;
- and
- pumping, via the thermo-acoustic heat pump, heat from a heat source disposed proximate to the thermo-acoustic heat pump, wherein the thermo-acoustic heat pump comprises a first heat exchanger, a regenerator, and a second heat exchanger, wherein the first heat exchanger is heated via the heat source, wherein the second heat exchanger is maintained at a higher temperature than the first heat exchanger due to work performed via the acoustic wave.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.