How It started

The creation of Ice Dragon Cooling began as a research project for the US Air Force in 2006.  It started with the creation of a flow loop. The loop was designed to flow water/nanofluid from slow flow rates to over 100gpm through a 2in x 2in square channel. Inside the square channel was a heated flat plate that had thermocouples equally spaced down the center line in the direction of flow.  The loop also had a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger that controlled the fluid temperature inside the loop. Data was collected in a range flow rates. Nanofluids of various concentrations and comprised of different nanoparticles were compared to water. Knowing the fluid properties, flow rate, temperatures of the fluid and heat input to the plate, the convective coefficient for each specific fluid was calculated. The different fluids were compared and the best performing fluid was determined. It was clear that nanofluids outperformed water. The best performing fluid was later chosen as a foundation to develop a product.   A LaVision laser system was also used to investigate the flow field.