The SORGENTINA-RF project aims at developing a 14 MeV fusion neutron source featuring an emission rate in the order of 5–7 × 10${}^{13}$ s${}^{-1}$. The plant relies on a metallic water-cooled rotating target and a deuterium (50%) and tritium (50%) ion beam. Beyond the main focus of medical radioisotope production, the source may represent a multi-purpose neutron facility by implementing a series of neutron-based techniques. Among the different engineering and technological issues to be addressed, the production of incondensable gases and corrosion product into the rotating target deserves a dedicated investigation. In this study, a preliminary analysis is carried out, considering the general layout of the target and the present choice of the target material.

The paper deals with a comprehensive analysis and performance evaluation of a fully integrated Two-Phase Cooling system for power converters. A suitable testbed has been properly manufactured to perform the experimental campaign for the evaluation of the benefits and to deploy a dedicated management procedure of the Two-Phase Cooling. The system is tested under real operating conditions in which the system is employed for cooling a 1200 V 100 A IGBT power module of an inverter controlling a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine. The experimental results show the inverter temperature behavior in start-up for different flow rates of coolant and different temperatures of the fluid on the secondary system. In steady-state operation, using lower coolant flow rates in the primary circuit achieved equal or even better cooling for the IGBT module compared to higher flow rates. With respect to traditional cooling approaches, the proposed arrangement allows a greater extraction of the heat at a very low flow rate of the cooling fluid, even with standard industrial-grade heat-sinks, which motivates the use of this cooling technology for the next generation of power electronics converters.

Flow boiling into micro-channels is a good option of cooling solutions for electronic devices. Numerical simulations allow designing correctly before manufacturing. In this paper, the results of a steady-state one-dimensional simulation are presented for a single horizontal circular 1-mm tube. Through the refrigerant flows, two regions are distinguished: subcooled liquid flow and two-phase flow. Typical equations and correlations have been used for subcooled liquid flow; while one theoretical model has been used for two-phase flow. The results presented here are those by using perfluorohexane, which is used in the formulation of FC-72, a refrigerant for cooling electronic devices. For the range of tested parameters, the next conclusions come: i) from the point of view of choosing the pump, the highest subcooled level, and inlet pressure should be preferred; ii) in order to avoid the critical heat flux condition, the lowest inlet pressure should be preferred; iii) there is a contradiction for choosing the right inlet pressure because is opposite for the point of view of pump selection and critical heat flux condition.

The paper deals with the control structure and implementation of a fully integrated Two-Phase Cooling system for power converters. A suitable testbed has been properly designed and built to perform the experimental campaign for the performance evaluation of the Neural Network based control structure applied to an advanced multivariable Two-Phase Cooling system. With respect to traditional cooling approaches, the proposed arrangement allows a greater extraction of the heat at a very low flow rate of the cooling fluid, even with standard industrial-grade heat-sinks. The technology could be implemented for the next generation of power electronics converters. The controllability of such a cooling system is still an open issue in many cases, and the proposed approach tries to suggest a feasible approach, which could be implemented on an industrial grade control board.