Thermal management system and method for electronic equipment mounted on coldplates

1. A thermal management system for electronic components, comprising:

a plastic coldplate having a mounting surface for mounting one or more electronic components;

one or more passageways disposed within the plastic coldplate, the passageways configured to have a fluid flow therethrough in such a manner that the fluid flow does not physically engage the plastic coldplate; and

a highly conductive material disposed within the plastic coldplate and thermally coupled to the mounting surface, the highly conductive material operable to transfer heat from the mounting surface to the fluid flow.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic components comprise an Active Electronically Scanned Array.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a circuit board for mounting the one or more electronic components, the circuit board coupled to the mounting surface.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the highly conductive material comprises a waffle panel.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the waffle panel is disposed within a housing, the housing having one or more projections engaged with respective sections of the mounting surface.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plastic coldplate is formed from two separate pieces and the passageways are separated from one another.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the highly conductive material comprises a plurality of protrusions extending between adjacent passageways.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passageways comprises a tube disposed within the plastic coldplate in a boustrophedonic manner and wherein the highly conductive material comprises a plurality of fins coupled to the tube.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passageways comprise one or more tubes disposed within the plastic coldplate and wherein the highly conductive material comprises one or more enclosures coupled to the tubes in series.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plastic coldplate is housed within a highly conductive housing, the mounting surface associated with the housing.

11. A thermal management method for electronic components, comprising:

mounting one or more electronic components on a mounting surface of a plastic coldplate, the plastic coldplate having one or more passageways disposed therein that are configured to have a fluid flow therethrough in such a manner that the fluid flow does not physically engage the plastic coldplate;

disposing a highly conductive material within the plastic coldplate; and

thermally coupling the highly conductive material to the mounting surface to transfer heat from the mounting surface to the fluid flow during operation of the electronic components.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the electronic components comprise an Active Electronically Scanned Array.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein mounting the one or more electronic components on the mounting surface of the plastic coldplate comprises mounting the one or more electronic components on a circuit board and mounting the circuit board to the mounting surface.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein thermally coupling the highly conductive material to the mounting surface comprises disposing a waffle panel within a housing and engaging one or more projections of the housing with respective portions of the mounting surface.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising separating the passageways from one another.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the one or more passageways comprises a tube disposed within the plastic coldplate in a boustrophedonic manner and wherein the highly conductive material comprises a plurality of fins coupled to the tube.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising housing the plastic coldplate within a highly conductive housing, the mounting surface associated with the housing.