Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions

On Earth, electronic circuits dissipate heat through convective flows driven by gravity, transferring energy from devices to the environment. In microgravity, the absence of buoyancy disrupts this mechanism, causing heat accumulation and potential damage. Here, we present an experimental study on en...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Drago González, Alex, El Kraye Ziade, Ioana, Ferreiro Cuevas, Yago, González Cinca, Ricardo|||0000-0003-3920-9103
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:upcommonspor::d226b171632789bd31ceb2f9c5c54133
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/462391
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12217-025-10203-6
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Heat transfer
Ultrasound
Microgravity
Electronics cooling
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
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spelling Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditionsDrago González, AlexEl Kraye Ziade, IoanaFerreiro Cuevas, YagoGonzález Cinca, Ricardo|||0000-0003-3920-9103Heat transferUltrasoundMicrogravityElectronics coolingÀrees temàtiques de la UPC::FísicaOn Earth, electronic circuits dissipate heat through convective flows driven by gravity, transferring energy from devices to the environment. In microgravity, the absence of buoyancy disrupts this mechanism, causing heat accumulation and potential damage. Here, we present an experimental study on enhancing heat transfer in air in microgravity via acoustic actuation. The setup consists of a test cell and subsystems for heat generation, acoustic actuation, and data acquisition. Experiments were conducted in five drops at the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen (Germany), each providing 9.3 seconds of microgravity. Thermocouple data and high-speed videos were recorded per drop. We analyzed temperature evolution at different positions from the heat source and heat distribution inside the test cell using the Background Oriented Schlieren technique. Qualitative and quantitative results show that acoustic actuation distributes heat over larger regions, strengthening with increased pressure amplitude. Temperature increased when actuated at resonance frequency, with heat transfer along the actuation direction increasing at a rate of 0.44 K/s. Results confirm that acoustic actuation improves heat transfer in microgravity, likely due to convection-like flows induced by acoustic streaming. This study provides a foundation for new cooling techniques applicable to satellites and spacecraft.Open Access funding provided by Aalto University. The workwas supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Spain) project PID2020-116413GB-I00 (MCIN / AEI / 10.13039 / 501100011033).Peer Reviewed20252025-10-0120262026-05-21journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2117/462391https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12217-025-10203-6reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPCinstname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)Inglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:upcommonspor::d226b171632789bd31ceb2f9c5c541332026-05-27T15:37:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
title Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
spellingShingle Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
Drago González, Alex
Heat transfer
Ultrasound
Microgravity
Electronics cooling
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
title_short Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
title_full Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
title_fullStr Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
title_full_unstemmed Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
title_sort Heat transfer enhancement in air by means of acoustics in microgravity conditions
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Drago González, Alex
El Kraye Ziade, Ioana
Ferreiro Cuevas, Yago
González Cinca, Ricardo|||0000-0003-3920-9103
author Drago González, Alex
author_facet Drago González, Alex
El Kraye Ziade, Ioana
Ferreiro Cuevas, Yago
González Cinca, Ricardo|||0000-0003-3920-9103
author_role author
author2 El Kraye Ziade, Ioana
Ferreiro Cuevas, Yago
González Cinca, Ricardo|||0000-0003-3920-9103
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Heat transfer
Ultrasound
Microgravity
Electronics cooling
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
topic Heat transfer
Ultrasound
Microgravity
Electronics cooling
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
description On Earth, electronic circuits dissipate heat through convective flows driven by gravity, transferring energy from devices to the environment. In microgravity, the absence of buoyancy disrupts this mechanism, causing heat accumulation and potential damage. Here, we present an experimental study on enhancing heat transfer in air in microgravity via acoustic actuation. The setup consists of a test cell and subsystems for heat generation, acoustic actuation, and data acquisition. Experiments were conducted in five drops at the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen (Germany), each providing 9.3 seconds of microgravity. Thermocouple data and high-speed videos were recorded per drop. We analyzed temperature evolution at different positions from the heat source and heat distribution inside the test cell using the Background Oriented Schlieren technique. Qualitative and quantitative results show that acoustic actuation distributes heat over larger regions, strengthening with increased pressure amplitude. Temperature increased when actuated at resonance frequency, with heat transfer along the actuation direction increasing at a rate of 0.44 K/s. Results confirm that acoustic actuation improves heat transfer in microgravity, likely due to convection-like flows induced by acoustic streaming. This study provides a foundation for new cooling techniques applicable to satellites and spacecraft.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025-10-01
2026
2026-05-21
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2117/462391
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12217-025-10203-6
url https://hdl.handle.net/2117/462391
https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12217-025-10203-6
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
instname:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
instname_str Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
reponame_str UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
collection UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
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