Cooling system with expansion driven fan

Abstract

A cooling system for cooling a flow of fluid from a heat source includes a turbine configured to be fluidly connected to the heat source. The turbine is configured to receive the flow of fluid from the heat source. The cooling system also includes a fan configured to be driven by the turbine. The fan includes at least one channel for receiving the flow of fluid from the turbine.

1 . A cooling system for cooling a flow of fluid from a heat source, the cooling system comprising:
 a turbine configured to be fluidly connected to the heat source, the turbine being configured to receive the flow of fluid from the heat source; and   a fan configured to be driven by the turbine, the fan including at least one channel for receiving the flow of fluid from the turbine.   
   
   
       2 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the fan is configured to direct the flow of fluid to the heat source. 
   
   
       3 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the fan includes a plurality of fan blades and a plurality of the channels, and each of the fan blades includes at least one of the channels. 
   
   
       4 . The cooling system of  claim 3 , wherein the channels are microchannels. 
   
   
       5 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , further including a fan shroud surrounding a plurality of fan blades of the fan, the fan shroud including a reservoir configured to receive the flow of fluid from the at least one channel of the fan. 
   
   
       6 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , further including a heat exchanger, the heat exchanger being configured to receive the flow of fluid from the fan, the fan being configured to direct a flow of air through the heat exchanger. 
   
   
       7 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , further including an evaporator configured to receive the flow of fluid from the fan and to direct the flow of fluid to the heat source. 
   
   
       8 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the turbine is a two-phase turbine;   the flow of fluid received by the turbine is a mixture of gas and liquid;   the turbine is configured to convert the mixture of gas and liquid to a substantially liquid flow; and   the flow of fluid received by the at least one channel in the fan is the substantially liquid flow.   
   
   
       9 . A method of cooling a flow of fluid from a heat source, comprising:
 directing the flow of fluid from the heat source to a turbine;   transferring rotational motion from the turbine to a fan; and   directing the flow of fluid from the turbine to at least one channel in the fan.   
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further including directing the flow of fluid from the at least one channel in the fan to the heat source. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the fan includes a plurality of fan blades and a plurality of the channels, and each of the fan blades includes at least one of the channels. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the directing of the flow of fluid from the at least one channel in the fan to the heat source includes directing the flow of fluid to a reservoir in a fan shroud surrounding the fan blades. 
   
   
       13 . An engine and a cooling system for cooling a fluid flow from the engine, the cooling system comprising:
 a two-phase turbine fluidly connected to the engine, the turbine being configured to receive the fluid flow in the form of a mixture of liquid and gas from the engine and output the fluid flow in the form of a substantially liquid flow; and   a fan configured to be driven by the turbine.   
   
   
       14 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 13 , wherein the fan is configured to receive the substantially liquid flow from the turbine and direct the substantially liquid flow to the engine. 
   
   
       15 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 14 , wherein the fan includes a plurality of fan blades, and the substantially liquid flow passes through a plurality of channels in the fan blades. 
   
   
       16 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 15 , wherein the fan is configured to direct the substantially liquid flow to a reservoir in a fan shroud encircling the fan blades, and the fan shroud is configured to direct the substantially liquid flow to the engine. 
   
   
       17 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 13 , wherein a majority of the mixture of gas and liquid is gas. 
   
   
       18 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 13 , wherein the engine includes an engine block with at least one cavity cast into the engine block. 
   
   
       19 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 18 , further including at least one heat exchanger disposed inside the at least one cavity in the engine block, the at least one heat exchanger being configured to receive the substantially liquid flow from the turbine. 
   
   
       20 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 19 , wherein the heat exchanger disposed inside the at least one cavity includes a plurality of microchannels. 
   
   
       21 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 19 , further including an evaporator configured to receive the substantially liquid flow from the turbine and direct the substantially liquid flow to the at least one heat exchanger disposed in the engine block. 
   
   
       22 . The engine and the cooling system of  claim 21 , wherein:
 the substantially liquid flow is directed from the turbine to a plurality of channels in a plurality of fan blades of the fan;   the substantially liquid flow is directed from the plurality of channels in the plurality of fan blades to a reservoir in a fan shroud surrounding the fan; and   the substantially liquid flow is directed from the reservoir to the evaporator.