Maximising Heat Exchanger Performance
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) is working with long-time Australian collaborator Conflux Technology on design and manufacture of a new fuel oil heat exchanger (FOHE) for the MQ-9B Sky Guardian and SeaGuardian UAS.
Conflux is a pioneer in the use of additive manufacturing (AM) for heat exchanger applications, and has been working with GA-ASI since 2018 to master this technology for aerospace applications. “GA-ASI wants to optimize and augment the performance of our current units by minimizing the differential pressure across the FOHE,” explained Stephen Eiting, VP of Manufacturing Operations for GA-ASI. “We want to maximize the overall heat extraction capacity, while looking for opportunities to lower the mass and volume of the FOHE.”
Another GA-ASI objective is to develop an AM heat exchanger design that can be 3D printed, post-processed, and bench-tested. As part of this most recent purchase order, Conflux will produce a fully functional prototype unit that can be tested by GA-ASI. “Our mission is transforming heat exchanger performance. For our project with GA-ASI this means drop-in replacements that remove thermal load and maintaining a compact profile, while also increasing performance to meet higher system demand. When you are leading the charge on advanced technology, you need a world-class team and agility to do it right. This is where Conflux comes in,” said Abe Masoud, Business Development Manager – North America.
The companies have worked together on four AM projects, most recently leveraging AM to develop a cold plate heat exchanger that provides additional cooling capacity for the high-dissipation line-replaceable unit used in various GA-ASI UAS platforms.
