Thermal analysis of piezoelectric actuators for active cooling of RF phased array radars

RF communications and radar systems present an extreme thermal management challenge. These systems are comprised of tightly packaged high wattage components requiring a controlled temperature to meet performance and reliability parameters. One approach being pursued to meet this thermal challenge is embedding piezoelectric actuators within the electronics to create synthetic air jet drives for localized cooling. U.S. Army AMRDEC is developing and testing actuator test beds to mature the concepts and develop practical solutions. This investigation attempts to model these actuators in a CFD thermal analysis program, verify the results of the models with the current test beds, and then insert the model in conceptual designs of phased array antennas. The goal of the investigation is to gain insight into the practical application of a maturing thermal management concept in a real world application. These cooling devices have achieved over 2.5 W/cm² cooling capacity in a 1.3 cm³ package.