water cooling undersuit prototype

[sonicspeed17]

I would like to share my idea/prototype for a cooling system for a full suit. I went to Dragoncon last year and it can get really hot (outside and inside), I can only imagine how hot it will be inside a full set of armor. So I have been thinking of ways to fix that. My first idea was to use a cool shirt (they are used in the racing industry with a cooler filled with ice) the problem with that system is that you need somewhere to store the ice water and will have to drain and add ice every few hours (to store enough water and ice to last a while would be heavy and a pain to drain and add more ice all the time) my 2nd idea which is what I have build a prototype of is to use the same cooling shirt (or low thermal resistance tubing sewed into a underarmor shirt) and a device called a thermoelectric cooler aka a peltier (they are a small flat device that when given power one side gets hot while the other side gets cold) I placed one of these between a large heat-sink with a fan and a cpu water block. add a pump and some tubing and you have a prototype. it can maintain a tempature difference of about 10 degrees (which does not sound like much but any more and it would make you too cold and sick) to power the peltier, fan and water pump I will be using lithium batteries (this is going to be the most expensive part depending on the run time I want to obtain) the batteries will be housed in clip into the back of the chest piece just like the power ups from reach. also using this setup there is no need for a reservoir, you just need the water in the lines.

I will post some pics later today of the parts and my prototype.

 

[spartanx360]

your idea sounds good, are you going to explain more in this thread? and make the prototype?

 

[braggkid9]

Yeah, please post some pics, because that sounds really cool. I can see were you're going but:
1) How heavy would it be?
I haven't seen a peltier before but you said it was small, no biggy. But the rest of the mechanism, how bulky and heavy would it be?
2) Where would the mechanism go?
Would it be small enough to go into the chest pieces? It sounds like it can fit into the big back of CE armor were all the lights are.

 

[Arioch]

I had nearly the same idea, but havent gotten to the undersuit of my suit yet. Im going to use a cpu water cooling system and convert it into the armor. It seems like a good idea as long as theres no leaks! lol

 

[sonicspeed17]

Yeah, please post some pics, because that sounds really cool. I can see were you're going but:
1) How heavy would it be?
I haven't seen a peltier before but you said it was small, no biggy. But the rest of the mechanism, how bulky and heavy would it be?
2) Where would the mechanism go?
Would it be small enough to go into the chest pieces? It sounds like it can fit into the big back of CE armor were all the lights are.

the weight will not be that much (I would think the whole system is going to be around 5 pounds or less) the pump and peltier with heat sinks will go in the back of the chest and vent out where the vents are on the back of the reach armor. depending on how many batteries it needs they might be placed all over the armor to distribute the weight.

 

[sonicspeed17]

yea, you will have to use double sealed quick disconnects they are expensive (around 20 for one set) but they will not leak at all. here is a link to them http://www.koolance.com/technical/quick_disconnect_shutoff_couplings/qdc_fittings.html
the problem you might run into is where to store the water and getting a big enough radiator to cool the water enough to make a difference. Im nowhere near ready to make my undersuit but im adding alot of electronics and thats my other hobby so I have been working on that along with the armor (my suit will have a touchscreen on the wrist that will control the water cooling system, monitor the power levels and also monitor my heart rate) it will use an arduino and a old android phone/screen, but thats all for another post when I get there

 

[afa]

So basically your going to make a computer style liquid cooler but instead of a computer tower it'll be a person?
My first thought is that it'll be entirely possible
But also that it might be pretty heavy, and there'll have to be trails of basically tubes all over the wearer circuit style that might be a bit fragile, unless you had just a couple key tracks that guide most of the heat another option would be to have a small icechest in the back mounted like a camelback, and air could be blown into that to be cooled, then ported throughout the suit using fans. Dunno how that would be different in performance though

 

[IronicTrout]

So if I'm not mistaken you are trying to use a peltier to cool down a liquid that you are going to run about your armor to cool yourself?

 

[sonicspeed17]

So if I'm not mistaken you are trying to use a peltier to cool down a liquid that you are going to run about your armor to cool yourself?

Thats correct

 

[Shadarlocoth]

I did something similar with a hydration blader full of ice and soild ice packs for my MW2 suit I tryed using a peltier and a 12volt water pump to move the water around but the power requirements for the peltier an pump where just 2 much.


My current set up is just the pump and ice that is pumped under the suit and that is about a 40 degree drop when ever you flick the switch. But it does run out of cold unless you use cold packs to keep it freezing. But you can also drink the water or use the feed line to put water on your pants.

 

[sonicspeed17]

The peltier im using draws about 8 amps an hour, its about 150 for 4 hours worth of lithium batteries. What kind of pump are you using?

 

[Zachrack]

I don't know if you may have thought of this already but Lipo (rechargable) batteries are not all that much in cost and are very light. I don't know if they would carry enough power or if they might be size efficiant but if you haven't already you can check them out. Hope this helps, and I'm looking forward to a few pictures of a built prototype!

 

[Blackblood]

I know they make camel bak bladders that you can put in the freezer that will keep the water cold for a while. I think you could get away without using a pump as long as you have a closed system. That way the cold water will sink and the warm rises and moves it's self along but it would be slower. I also think you would have to use antifreeze in the water to help with the temp exchange.

 

[afa]

nah for it to be effective i think youd have to have a pump, even an underpowered small one to give it some current, otherwise a vacuum in the tubes would render it ineffective, of course that's depending on the design

 

[RTGCBT]

I had a similar idea like this myself but it was for something other than Undersuit armor. So i made it with thicker tuubing and all i did was take two Camel Packs and strap them to my back and i had a small pond pump in between the two that pumped the water through the tubbing and kept me cool (And this was while in 103 degree weather) The only downside was that any ice i had melted too fast. So a simple solution was i bought some cheap instant use medical ice packs. The ones you squeeze and pop to get them cold, four of them (At about 4 bucks a piece) Kept the water in Both pack (2 per pack placed on the outside) Kept them cool for about six hours. anymore than that and i had to change the ice packs out. It was cheap and only cost me about 42 bucks and change to get it all set up. Now i dont know if this will work the same for underarmor cause my set up was kinda Bulky cause to power the pump i had to use a car battery = -=.

 

[IronicTrout]

This is what astronauts use. I know you probably can't make something comparable do to the sheer complexity of one, but I thought it might give you some ideas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_Cooling_and_Ventilation_Garment

 

[thorn696]

They do make gelatin ice packs that stay cold for 2-4 hours. It's what I use under my armor when on duty and it get anything over 90.

 

[sonicspeed17]

here are 2 pics of the testing setup, the water temp started at 82

 

[LongShot X]

sonicspeed17, that is one impressive experiment you have going.

Never thought to use it to cool water lines for an under suit.

I've used my peltier to keep my drink cool and to freeze paper clips. <-- cuz it was fun.

I'd like to ask: How long did it take to get the temp to drop that low?

Can't wait to see more on your experiments.

Cheers!

 

[sonicspeed17]

sonicspeed17, that is one impressive experiment you have going.

Never thought to use it to cool water lines for an under suit.

I've used my peltier to keep my drink cool and to freeze paper clips. <-- cuz it was fun.

I'd like to ask: How long did it take to get the temp to drop that low?

Can't wait to see more on your experiments.

Cheers!

It takes a little under 10 mins to get that cold, I also decided to test heating the water tonight and I got it up to 104