Thermal energy storage and heat rejection system

Abstract

A cooling system is provided including a two-phase pump loop and a vapor compression system. The two-phase pump loop cools a thermal load with a first coolant. The vapor compression system is configured to circulate a second coolant. The vapor compression system includes a liquid vapor separator which separates the second coolant into a liquid portion and a gaseous portion. The liquid vapor separator is a thermal energy storage for the two-phase pump loop. A condenser of the two-phase pump loop transfers heat from the first coolant to the liquid portion of the second coolant in the liquid-vapor separator.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooling system comprising:
 a two-phase pump loop comprising a pump, an evaporator configured to evaporate a first coolant supplied by the pump, a condenser configured to condense the first coolant evaporated by the evaporator, and an accumulator configured to deliver the first coolant condensed in the condenser to the pump;   a thermal energy storage configured to deliver a liquid portion of a second coolant to the condenser of the two-phase pump loop, wherein the thermal energy storage is configured to separate the second coolant into the liquid portion and a gaseous portion; and   a vapor compression system configured to circulate the second coolant, the vapor compression system comprising a compressor and a cooler, wherein the thermal energy storage is configured as a liquid-vapor separator of the vapor compression system, the compressor is configured to compress the gaseous portion of the second coolant from the thermal energy storage, and the cooler is configured to cool the gaseous portion compressed by the compressor.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the vapor compression system is a trans-critical vapor compression system. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the vapor compression system is detachable from the thermal energy storage, and wherein the thermal energy storage is still operable while vapor compression system is detached. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the two-phase pump loop has a heat rejection capacity which is greater than or equal to a cooling capacity of the vapor compression system. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the condenser of the two-phase pump loop is positioned within a chamber of the thermal energy storage containing the second coolant. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the condenser of the two-phase pump loop is external to the thermal energy storage. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling system of  claim 6 , further comprising a second pump configured to supply the second coolant from the thermal energy storage to the condenser of the two-phase pump loop. 
     
     
         8 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein a volume of the second coolant in the thermal energy storage is greater than a volume of the first coolant in the condenser 
     
     
         9 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the thermal energy storage comprises a container configured to sequester a volume of the liquid portion of the second coolant from the vapor compression system. 
     
     
         10 . A cooling system comprising:
 a two-phase pump loop configured to cool a thermal load with a first coolant; and   a vapor compression system configured to circulate a second coolant, the vapor compression system comprising a liquid-vapor separator configured to separate the second coolant into a liquid portion and a gaseous portion,   wherein the liquid-vapor separator is a thermal energy storage for the two- phase pump loop, wherein a condenser of the two-phase pump loop is configured to transfer heat from the first coolant to the liquid portion of the second coolant in the liquid-vapor separator.   
     
     
         11 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the evaporator is heated by a thermal energy source and wherein the two-phase pump loop and the thermal energy storage are configured to maintain the thermal energy source within a temperature range of 5 degrees Fahrenheit. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , comprising a housekeeping cooling loop comprising a condenser cooled by the second coolant from the thermal energy storage. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the vapor compression system comprises a plurality of independently operable compressors. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the cooler of the vapor compression system is an open seawater cooler. 
     
     
         15 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the cooler of the vapor compression system is an air cooler operating at an ambient temperature. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 supplying a liquid portion of a second coolant to a condenser from a thermal energy storage;   condensing a first coolant within the condenser, wherein the first coolant is in a two-phase pump loop and the first coolant is cooled by the liquid portion of the second coolant passing through the condenser;   evaporating a gaseous portion of the second coolant by the condenser; and   returning the gaseous portion of the second coolant to the thermal energy storage, wherein the gaseous portion of the second coolant within the thermal energy storage is configured to supply a vapor compression system.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising selectively operating the vapor compression system when the liquid portion of the second coolant within the thermal energy storage reaches a predetermined temperature. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising operating the vapor compression system while the two-phase pump loop is not being operated. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , comprising operating the two-phase pump loop and operating the vapor compression system simultaneously to maintain a constant temperature in the thermal energy storage. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the second coolant is supplied to the condenser by a pump.