NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station, TX 77840 - 4023
(979) 693-0017

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Roger van Boeyen
roger.vanboeyen@lynntech.com
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station, TX 77840 - 4023
(979) 693-0017

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 4

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
With the introduction of low-cost, small, rapidly configurable spacecraft, the need for robust, versatile, readily deployable, and easily ground-testable thermal control technologies becomes ever more critical. Passive two-phase thermal control technology, that is, heat pipes, defines the current state-of-the-art, yet it is clear that this technology alone will not meet the needs of future spacecraft. Dramatic improvements in the versatility and effectiveness of heat pipes are possible with a small amount of mechanical pumping assistance. With the separation of the liquid pumping and heat transfer functions, greater design freedom and system optimization is also afforded. However, before pump-assisted heat pipes can become a viable alternative, significant improvement in pump lifetime and robustness is needed. Lynntech proposes to develop a long-life, robust, low-power, high pressure-rise, electrochemically-driven micropump for use in pump-assisted heat pipes.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
A highly efficient, robust, long-life micropump will have applications in the next generation of small space craft thermal control systems. By adding mechanical pump assistance to heat pipes, such as capillary pumped loops and loop heat pipes, the limitations that currently exist in cooling capacity, flexibility, and structure of the loop will be greatly mitigated.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
With the increasing power density of electronics, there is a growing market for miniature, low-power pumps for use in the thermal management of consumer electronics, such as laptops and PCs. Other commercial applications that require reliable, efficient micropumps include chemical and biomedical analytical equipment that require gas and/or liquid handling.

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

Control Instrumentation