“Circulatory” Air Conditioning Could Keep Planes Cooler

November 18, 2019

Materials that model the body's circulatory system can be used to more effectively cool technology that runs hot.

The complex network of veins that keeps us cool during the heat of summer has inspired engineers to create novel thermal management systems. A new computer program could be key to mimicking the body’s evolution-optimized cooling system in functional materials.

Microvascular fiber-composites are currently being developed to cool everything from electric vehicles to next-generation aircraft, where increasingly higher performance is turning up the heat they generate.

A microvascular carbon-fiber composite was created using 3D printing. After heating the carbon-composites to a maximum temperature, liquid coolant was pumped through each vascular network to begin the cooling process.

Source