A Guide to Cooling Radar Electronics
Posted on February 27th, 2023
Radar systems are essential for a wide range of industries. These detection systems use radio waves to identify and locate objects. From the medical field and the military to engineering and robotics, radar is an integral tool for many professional applications. The military applies radar in many conditions and deploys some of the most sophisticated […]
ACT HITS MARK WITH DART MISSION THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Posted on January 27th, 2023
When unsuspecting asteroid Dimorphos passed close to Earth in late September 2022, it sparked panic in some, but delight in others. NASA took it as the perfect opportunity to test out its first-ever planetary defense technology: the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. DART Mission’s Purpose The purpose of the mission was to see if […]
High Altitude Doesn’t Mean High Temperatures
Posted on November 30th, 2022
The aviation industry faces a set of unique thermal challenges, often because of altitude changes and the vast temperature ranges. Let’s look at a few of those challenges and the thermal management strategies that can be implemented to overcome them. Challenge 1: Ambient temperature range For military environments—and especially for aircraft—it is typical to have […]
How The Rise in Temperature Is Affecting Train Services
Posted on September 26th, 2022
With the invention of cars and passenger planes, trains declined as a means of daily transportation in the U.S. However, they are still essential for transporting goods across the country. Since there is no continuous waterway extending across the U.S., trains are a vital part of getting goods from one side of the country to […]
Engineering Internships at ACT
Posted on August 23rd, 2022
Internships are a vital part of a college student’s success as they motivate, inspire, and engage students in real-world scenarios. At ACT, our goal is to provide interns with an immersive experience in their field of study so that they can explore what a career looks like in that industry; along the way, interns gain […]
Thermal Solutions for Planetary Rovers
Posted on July 20th, 2022
When NASA announced that its plucky rover Opportunity had finally crawled its last Martian meter in 2018, a palpable wave of grief swept over the science community. Rovers have come to embody the spirit of human exploration, so to many, Opportunity was more than a mechanical assembly of metal and gadgetry. For a species that […]
The Importance of Thermal Management in Medical Imaging
Posted on June 22nd, 2022
Medical imaging is an essential practice in the medical field. Healthcare providers can use various imaging procedures to view detailed visuals of a patient’s internal body. These images allow them to diagnose conditions or decide upon treatment. From X-rays to ultrasounds, health professionals use various imaging methods. It’s critical to use thermal management techniques to […]
Enhanced Dehumidification and Energy Recovery in Tampa Bay
Posted on May 5th, 2022
Whenever I visit Florida, I’m reminded of just how drastically climates can differ—even from one region of a country to another. My native Pennsylvanian summers certainly have their fair share of hot and humid air, but that first step into the Florida sun never ceases to amaze me; with the dependability of a German clock, […]
5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HEAT PIPES IN SPACE
Posted on April 5th, 2022
HEAT PIPE WORKING FLUIDS AND WICK STRUCTURES: Axial groove aluminum-ammonia heat pipes have been the long-standing workhorse of the space industry, but other heat pipe configurations have flight legacy as well and can better service certain applications. In particular, high heat fluxes preclude axially groove wick aluminum-ammonia heat pipes because they can only support moderate […]
Thermal Complexities of Spring in Pennsylvania
Posted on March 16th, 2022
Winter is coming to a close here in Pennsylvania and signs of spring are popping up everywhere. However; we are now in for the worst season of PA – the transition season. During this season it is easy to be lured into a sense of joy by the 75-degree days only to be hit with […]
Spot Cooling Versus Remote Cooling: Which to Choose?
Posted on February 10th, 2022
Engineers designing solutions to complex thermal issues have a variety of decisions to make that affect the overall performance of the system. A common dilemma that arises is the choice of a cooling method; specifically, engineers must decide whether spot cooling or remote cooling should be utilized in their thermal management solution. This decision is […]
Thermal Management Solutions
Posted on January 20th, 2022
Temperature is a crucial variable in many industrial and mechanical processes. Diverse applications require integrated thermal management solutions to help remove excess heat. When it comes to product design and engineering, it’s essential to understand some key thermal management concepts and the fundamentals of managing temperature in electronic devices. What Is Thermal Management? Thermal management is how engineers […]
Environmental Control Unit Redundancy: Asking the Important Questions.
Posted on December 13th, 2021
Military service members rely on Environmental Control Units (ECUs) for a variety of daily applications, including such life-sustaining services as shelter support and weapon-defense systems. But what happens when an ECU goes down? What measures can be taken to ensure the safety of warfighters and the operability of military equipment? This is where ECU redundancy […]
Edge Computing Data Centers: Cooling the Future of Communications
Posted on November 17th, 2021
Edge computing, or Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), is an alternative to traditional cloud computing. Rather than handling the bulk of the data processing at a central location, MEC moves that data processing closer to the consumer, or to the “edge” of the network.1 The ultimate goal of this shift is not necessarily to replace cloud […]
Anaerobic Digestors Shutdown Zone, Addressing The Thermal Challenge
Posted on October 29th, 2021
What is Anaerobic Digestion? Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is the process through which colonies of bacteria (acetogens) and methane-forming archaea (methanogens) digest organic waste, producing two valuable byproducts: Natural biogas in the form of methane Nutrient-dense effluent or well processed organic waste that can be used as an upgraded fertilizer Much like the flora in our […]
A Weld Apart: Aerospace Welding
Posted on September 4th, 2021
It is common knowledge that putting technology into space is expensive, so it is no surprise that materials are often chosen for their ability to satisfy the needs of designers (strength, thermal conduction, or survivability in space) without adding too much weight to the overall architecture. But it is not just material selection that is […]
Isn’t an ECU just an HVAC unit?
Posted on August 16th, 2021
At its core, the acronym ECU is the military’s terminology for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit, but key differences in mobility, ruggedization, and ability to face extreme temperatures put these into a category all their own. One common use of an ECU is to provide heated and cooled air to a shelter, […]
ACT at Spacecraft Thermal Control Workshop 2021
Posted on July 12th, 2021
The Spacecraft Thermal Control Workshop is held annually by the Aerospace Corporation. It brings together government, industry, and academic experts to discuss all aspects of spacecraft thermal control. “In addition to technical papers by ACT and others, there was an excellent series of thermal roadmaps by NASA Goddard, NASA JPL, the Air Force Research Laboratory, […]
Heat Pipe Research
Posted on June 7th, 2021
Advanced Cooling Technologies is thrilled to have Haley Myer join our Research & Development department after graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science & Engineering. Haley was interested in heat pipes well before she joined ACT; she published an informative blog detailing some background information on heat pipes last year […]
Heat Pipes in Space: CCHPs used at the System-Level
Posted on May 12th, 2021
CCHPs are well known to the experienced Satellite Designer, and the term generally refers to the use of aluminum-ammonia heat pipes in satellites to transfer heat from the electronics payloads to radiator panels. These products have been used as thermal links on satellites for decades; to demonstrate their widespread use, ACT’s CCHP product line recently […]
Extreme Cold Storage: Medical Application
Posted on March 31st, 2021
ACT’s Devin Pellicone describes an example of cold storage for medical applications and how this technology can be used for vaccine storage among other applications.
What do you need in an Enclosure Cooler?
Posted on February 24th, 2021
Need something quick? Need something cheap? Is this a one-off design? If you answered yes to all of these, skip this blog and check out our Enclosure Cooler Selection Tool and existing ‘off the shelf’ Enclosure Cooler Products to find the closest match and get something quick and cost-effective. Now, if you have a unique […]
Green Buildings Or Healthy Occupants? You Don’t Have To Choose Anymore!
Posted on January 25th, 2021
Guest blog by Devin Pellicone, Lead Engineer: Advanced Cooling Technologies, inc. on HVACinformed.com. Devin details how Heat Pipe Heat Exchangers are a great solution to save energy, even while implementing solutions that provide great IAQ during Covid-19 and beyond. These products keep airstreams completely separate while providing 100% outside air, and recovering energy from the […]
THE SCIENCE BEHIND COOKING THAT TURKEY!
Posted on November 18th, 2020
As many begin thinking about cooking their Thanksgiving meal, we are sharing this blog post as a look into the science behind cooking your turkey! We begin this analysis by identifying the thermal conductivity of the bird. Per THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF PROCESSED MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS, poultry’s thermal conductivity tracks linearly from 0.26 W/m-K […]
How Pumped Two Phase Cooling may revolutionize Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) Systems
Posted on October 12th, 2020
Many DEW systems are designed to disable enemy drones that are extremely far away and moving fast. Needless to say, it requires a tremendous amount of engineering to hit a small, moving target with a laser! Thermal management is a key enabling technology to allow these systems to operate successfully. There are several criteria that […]
Managing High Heat: Current Trends in the Medical Market
Posted on September 24th, 2020
Engineers are challenged to create and re-design existing technologies across many markets. Design engineers never hear “make the new version bigger and slower,” rather they are tasked with making the technology smaller, more efficient and more reliable. This often leads to increasing amounts of waste heat created by the electronics in pursuit of increased performance. […]
Europa clipper mission: exploring Jupiter’s moon
Posted on August 27th, 2020
Have you heard that NASA will explore and analyze Europa, a moon of Jupiter which NASA believes to have water? The Europa Clipper mission is being executed to do just that. The mission goal is to orbit Jupiter to investigate Europa, based on evidence that this moon has water under the icy crust. Europa possesses […]
THE RIGHT ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM DEPENDS ON YOUR AIR QUALITY NEEDS
Posted on July 7th, 2020
There have been debates about whether or not COVID-19 can be spread through airstreams and poor ventilation. Linked below are two articles with a more detailed look at this subject. CAN AIR CONDITIONERS SPREAD COVID-19? AIR CONDITIONING & COVID-19 Whether or not COVID-19 is spread in this fashion, the fact remains that many types of […]
HAPPENINGS AT THE AHR EXPO 2020
Posted on February 25th, 2020
“What are heat pipes and how are you using them for energy recovery?” It’s a question we heard a lot yesterday, often voiced with some skepticism. Questions were quickly answered with a show of ACT’s Passive Energy Recovery demo unit. The original heat pipe concept was developed in the 1960’s and is now in standard use in electronics […]
ARE YOU IN CONTROL?
Posted on August 26th, 2019
Last Fall, a building manager stopped at ACT’s booth at the WEEC tradeshow and explained that he was getting ready to contract a design for an HVAC system and that new environmental regulations required energy recovery to be considered in the design. He was hoping that we could provide him information that would enable him […]
ELECTRONICS ARE SENSITIVE, BUDGETS ARE TOO (SEALED ENCLOSURE COOLERS)
Posted on July 31st, 2019
How to protect your electronics within a cabinet while reducing your maintenance budget. Electronic components such as variable speed drives, servos and programmable logic controllers are often found within electronics cabinets, and these components produce a significant amount of heat. To avoid premature component failures, and increase the reliability and longevity of the cabinet, designers […]
HOW THERMAL ENGINEERING MAKES HOLIDAYS AWESOME
Posted on June 28th, 2019
The fourth of July is quickly approaching and soon we will look to the sky in awe at the beautiful eruption of color. But do you know how fireworks are able to make such magnificent displays in the night sky? Fireworks are a series of chemical reactions that begin with an application of heat or […]
TOO MUCH POWER, NOT ENOUGH SPACE: THE EMBEDDED COMPUTING CHALLENGE
Posted on June 17th, 2019
Avionics box design is not quite as difficult for designers as trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It does, however, often seem impossible, with the amount of electronics, connectors, etc. being forced into small volumes. This is especially true on military aircraft, where space and weight are at a premium, while […]
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES: MAKING THE FUTURE ATTAINABLE VIA FLIGHT
Posted on June 5th, 2019
As this technological age surges on, so does the evolution of aircraft which over the past 10+ years has led to the development and optimization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Commonly referred to as drones, these vehicles have caught the attention of many military and commercial users for various purposes. UAVs are now commonplace in […]
THE POWER ELECTRONICS MARKET IS HEATING UP (LITERALLY)
Posted on May 1st, 2019
Power Electronics is a general term that refers to the technologic control of the flow of electrical energy. If you’re not familiar with the term, you’ve still probably heard of a few products that rely on the technology such as power converters, inverters, motor drives, or motor soft starters. We live in an energy-conscious age with […]
A LOOK AT THE SPACE INDUSTRY – REVIEW FROM THE 35TH NATIONAL SPACE SYMPOSIUM
Posted on April 16th, 2019
The 35th National Space Symposium provided a lot of good insights to the space industry. A strong combination of well-established industry leaders and new entrants into the market were introducing innovative designs. Several noticeable advancements include propulsion systems, launch vehicle reusability and micro and CubeSats. There was also a large emphasis on additive manufacturing. This […]
ACT TESTIFIES AT THE HOUSE SCIENCE, SPACE AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE’S ENERGY SUBCOMMITTEE HEARING
Posted on March 18th, 2019
Recently, ACT’s very own Dr. Richard Bonner, Vice President of Research & Development, was invited to testify in front of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s Energy subcommittee. Representatives from several organizations with links to the energy and water industries (pictured) provided compelling testimonies on the topic, “The Energy Water Nexus: Drier Watts and […]
COMMON HEAT PIPE COMBINATIONS
Posted on February 7th, 2019
ACT’s most popular video on YouTube happens to be one of the first videos we posted (way back in 2012) titled “Heat Pipe Basics and Demonstration.” In may not be the most visually appealing, but what it does do is provide a high level overview of heat pipe operation and opens the door for viewers […]
AHR EXPO RECAP
Posted on January 21st, 2019
CT’s WAHX featured in United CoolAir’s New “Modulaire” DOAS The estimated 70,000 people have come and gone from the annual AHR Expo in Atlanta. This year ACT’s Wrap Around Heat Exchanger (WAHX) was featured in the introduction of United CoolAir’s “Modulaire” Dedicated Outside Air System (DOAS). ACT’s WAHX provides equivalent performance with reduced energy costs and space DOAS. According […]
BOILING TO KEEP COOL…?
Posted on January 14th, 2019
When something is boiling that means it’s hot, right? That’s not necessarily the case to some researchers, including thermal engineers at Advanced Cooling Technologies. Experts in Pumped Two Phase Cooling (P2P) intentionally design cooling systems so that the working fluid that cools the hot device boils when it comes in contact with it. They do this because they want the […]
BIOINSPIRED ENGINEERING FOR THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Posted on December 12th, 2018
by Mohammed Ababneh, R&D Engineer For decades science has looked for answers to tough problems from the ultimate design expert – nature itself. For the past 3.6 billion years, nature has designed creatures of flight, camouflage, and through constant adaptation developed solutions for resistance to the elements, and survival at large just to name a […]
2ND ANNUAL DIRECTED ENERGY DAY
Posted on November 20th, 2018
ACT would like to thank the DSI Group for organizing the Annual Directed Energy Day in Alexandria, VA. This was ACT’s first time attending and it was a truly great experience to see the leaders of the Directed Energy Community share ideas and insights to a growing market segment. If you are interested in learning […]
RELIABLE SOLUTIONS FOR INTELLIGENT BATTERY COOLING
Posted on November 14th, 2018
We are all attached to our mobile equipment and devices, but we really don’t want them to be attached to anything, like a power cord. This requirement for mobile power has put a lot of focus on reliable and long-life battery performance. Batteries are temperature-sensitive devices: they don’t operate when it’s very cold. And when it’s very […]
WHAT’S HOT IN MEDICAL DEVICES…AND HOW TO COOL THEM DOWN
Posted on October 12th, 2018
by Devin Pellicone, Industrial Products Engineer Medical devices, like most devices these days, are becoming increasingly more digital. Just like the phone in your pocket or the computer on your desk, medical instrument companies are trying to find new ways to get more oomph out of their devices while making them smaller and less invasive. […]
THE ANATOMY OF THE BATTERY
Posted on July 26th, 2018
Have you ever had your phone turn off when it was cold, even with a fully charged battery? Or remember the hoverboard scooters that had issues with the batteries overheating and causing fires? In both scenarios, sensitivity to temperature was the root cause for these malfunctions. A battery is an electro-chemical energy conversion device that […]
HEAT PIPE HERITAGE: WHAT CAME FIRST? THE CHICKEN OR THE EGG?
Posted on July 12th, 2018
Is anyone sure of the answer? And what does this have to do with heat pipe reliability? In the world of heat pipes, we often have to answer a similar question… do you have heritage? Aircraft, satellites and spacecraft require equipment on board to work consistently and reliably. You can’t stop at the repair shop […]
GAMERS NOW TURNING TO VAPOR CHAMBERS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE THERMAL MANAGEMENT
Posted on July 9th, 2018
Gamers out there have been buzzing over the new 2018 Razer Blade laptop. We at ACT have been buzzing over the awesome shout outs to thermal management the laptop has been receiving in the mainstream media! Source: Razer The Blade is touted as the smallest gaming laptop on the market at 15.6 inches. How did […]
ACT’S CCHPS SURPASS 25 MILLION HOURS OF SPACE FLIGHT HERITAGE
Posted on June 4th, 2018
The team at Advanced Cooling Technologies (ACT) is celebrating the significant milestone of 25 Million Hours of flawless flights for our Constant Conductance Heat Pipes (CCHPs). ACT’s CCHPs have been providing reliable thermal management to orbiting satellites for many years, including the International Space Station and powerful NASA Weather Satellites. Our CCHPs have provided mission critical cooling for over […]
UN “LOK”-ING THE THERMAL BOTTLE NECK IN MILITARY CHASSIS
Posted on May 14th, 2018
It is well known that the largest thermal gradient in military chassis is located between the card and the frame. For reference, in the typical military chassis, seen below, there are 3 primary thermal resistances: Heat Spreading from source components to the card edge Conducting heat through a mechanical retainer clamp (wedgelock) Rejecting heat from […]
SAVE TIME WITH THIS ACT CONTACT CHEAT SHEET
Posted on May 9th, 2018
Been poking around Advanced Cooling Technologies website, looking at the cool stuff (pun intended), but not sure what the next step is? One option is to fill out a contact form – know that we’ll get back to you within a day. But if you are looking for instant gratification, give us a call – our friendly and […]
5 THERMAL MANAGEMENT MYTHS
Posted on March 28th, 2018
Today’s design engineers often wear many hats, acting as much a project manager as they do a design engineer. Therefore it’s not surprising that in managing complex projects, thermal issues often take a backseat. It’s fairly common that during a product’s final stages of design, thermal management roadblocks appear, causing delays and a hastened need […]
TRENDS IN THE SATELLITE INDUSTRY: 2018 SATELLITE CONFERENCE REVIEW
Posted on March 28th, 2018
ACT has been attending the Satellite Conference in Washington DC for numerous years and it’s always an exciting event for us to get a chance to see current and potential customers, as well as hear insights from those companies and people driving innovation in this market. It’s truly a unique conference as satellite operators, satellite manufacturers […]
LEDS WALKING THE SAME THERMAL TRACKS LEFT BY CPUS
Posted on February 18th, 2018
by Rich Bonner, Vice President of R&D Not too long ago, CPU’s functioned without advanced heat pipe heat sinks and liquid cooling. At the start of the computer revolution, it was not uncommon for CPU’s to use no heat sinks, followed by simple natural convection heat sinks for thermal enhancement. Still today, many low power […]
FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN
Posted on February 6th, 2018
The legend of Icarus’ daring escape from his imprisonment in Crete and his subsequent drowning in the Icarian Sea has inspired countless debates on what went wrong on that tragic day more than two thousand years ago. As the story goes, Icarus and his father, Daedalus, a great Athenian craftsman and inventor, were imprisoned by […]
LOOSE THE (HEAT SINK) WEIGHT- KEEP THE POWER
Posted on January 23rd, 2018
As we roll towards the end of January, many of us are struggling to keep our new year’s resolution to lose weight. However, for the design engineer faced with packaging devices with increased power and decreased footprint, heat pipe based thermal solutions offer a great way to reduce heat sink size and weight, without deteriorating […]
THERMAL MIS-MANAGEMENT
Posted on January 8th, 2018
Recently, a study found that 1 in 5 electronics engineers identify thermal issues as a common cause of project delays. As we welcome 2018 with open arms, ACT’s New Year’s resolution is to ensure none of our engineer friends start their year off on the wrong foot by running into thermal troubles. Customers across many industries are demanding […]