Sub challenge
September 1st 2006

An unusual project for Tricool has been a cooling system developed in partnership with Thales UK for the communications mast on Royal Navy submarines.

In addition to space constraints and huge swings in temperature, the solution had to take into account that the system would be in a sealed environment filled with nitrogen to prevent moisture ingress.

Using 3D modelling, a prototype was developed within eight weeks.

Engineers worked on the basis that temperatures would never exceed 55C and that noise, restricted power consumption, flow rates and temperature of fluids dictated the product. Noise was a particular challenge and the company went to great lengths to ensure compressors were adequately insulated.

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