NASA SBIR 2005 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Creare Inc
P.O. Box 71
Hanover ,NH 03755 - 0071
(603) 643 - 3800

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Michael G. Izenson
mgi@creare.com
P.O. Box 71
Hanover, NH  03755 -0071
(603) 643 - 3800

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Future manned spacecraft will require thermal management systems that effectively and safely control the temperature in inhabited modules. Interface heat exchangers will be required that isolate the heat transfer fluid in the spacecraft thermal bus from the circulating water used to cool inhabited modules. We propose to develop an innovative heat exchanger that provides two completely independent physical barriers between the two fluids in the interface heat exchanger. This isolated flow path heat exchanger incorporates two key innovations: (1) an innovative and simple core construction that separates the two fluids while providing a large heat transfer area, and (2) innovative materials that enable efficient heat transfer between the two fluid streams. The proposed heat exchanger is lightweight, efficient, and simple to fabricate. Phase I proves the feasibility of our approach through laboratory demonstrations of the key technologies. In Phase II we will design, build, and demonstrate performance of a full-scale interface heat exchanger sized for a specific NASA application.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The central thermal bus interface heat exchanger on the International Space Station represents a potential path for the high pressure ammonia from the central thermal bus to leak into the circulating water systems used to cool inhabited modules. The proposed heat exchanger will have direct application to future station upgrades. The existing interface heat exchanger could be replaced with the technology developed in this program, eliminating the safety risk of a single-point failure. The technology will also be needed for future spacecraft like the Crew Exploration Vehicle, which will also require interface heat exchangers for the thermal control system.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The isolated flow path heat exchanger will be attractive for any process where mixing of two heat-exchanging fluids is unacceptable. These applications include fuel processors for fuel cells used for portable and automotive applications, solar heaters for domestic hot water, and thermal/chemical systems used for residential and/or transportation applications. In addition to its clear safety advantages for these applications, the proposed heat exchanger will be inexpensive, compact, and lightweight.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Cooling