This SBIR Phase I project will investigate an active heat sink that is required for hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids that provide improved energy efficiency and reduced emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The project will validate the active heat sink concept for inverter cooling directly by engine coolant at 105 deg C or by ambient air.
The broader/commercial impact of the project will be that success in this project will advance further investigation of liquid metal cooling science and technology. That, in turn, might lead to a breakthrough combining pump physics, heat transfer, material compatibility, and packaging into a device needed to win broader acceptance for liquid metal cooling theory leading to reduced weight and life time of systems proposed for electronics. This would potentially result in improved fuel economy and reduced emissions of pollutants.
