Thrust Area 4: Vehicle Thermal Management for Army Applications

Vehicle Thermal Management for Army Applications

Principal Investigators
Lin Ma, John Wagner (Clemson U.)

Government
Peter Schihl (TARDEC)

The successful management of thermal loads within ground vehicles requires a holistic approach to the design and integration of cooling strategies for the engine and payload. In some instances, the payload features heat generating electronic equipment (e.g., radios, computers) that has been located in the vehicle without additional cooling capabilities. This research project will investigate the design, analysis, and testing of vehicle cooling methods to satisfy engine and payload cooling requirements.

Provide effective vehicle (e.g., engine, payload) cooling strategies with high flexibility, reliability, and controllability.
Investigate the benefits of alternative cooling such as metal suspension polymer (MSP) and phase change materials (PCM) for under-the-armor equipment.
Develop mathematical models and design tools which calculate vehicle thermal loads and describe the physical behavior of MSP and PCM.
Validate the thermal management concepts through laboratory testing; engine and emulated payload heat loads and innovative heat transfer materials.

This research project will develop a complete vehicle cooling system design that may feature independent and/or integrated components for overall thermal management. It is anticipated that more effective cooling can be achieved leading possibly to better coolant temperature set point tracking, greater vehicle cabin comfort in the presence of heat generating payloads, and increased reliability through redundant cooling methods.

Enhance cooling system performance of the vehicle (engine, payload).
Supplement the factory cooling system during high engine/underhood thermal loads with flexible cooling alternatives such as MSP and PCM.
Limit peak temperature of onboard payloads through auxiliary passive and active cooling system(s) for this equipment.