Development and testing of two- and three-stage heat pipe radiators
Abstract
The work summarized in this paper proves the concept of employing heat pipes and staged radiators to achieve passive cooling at cryogenic temperatures substantially lower than would have been considered possible even a few years ago. The multistage radiator concept presented offers a unique approach to the problem of rejecting large heat loads at very low temperatures. Perhaps the most significant feature of the multistage radiator system is that great improvements in insulation technology are not required to reach temperatures of 40 K and lower. During 1978, two- and three-stage radiators were designed, optimized, fabricated, and thermally tested. An oxygen heat pipe was bonded to the second stage to transport heat to the radiator from a simulated low-temperature heat source. The two-stage radiator demonstrated passive cooling to 71.6 K with 0.8 W applied and achieved a temperature of 51.5 K with no load. The three-stage configuration rejected 30 mW at 40.5 K and achieved 33.5 K with no load. Correlations between the test results and analytical predictions based on a nodal thermal network are presented. Results show excellent agreement with test predictions.
- Publication:
-
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
- Pub Date:
- June 1979
- Bibcode:
- 1979thph.confR....W
- Keywords:
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- Cryogenic Equipment;
- Heat Pipes;
- Heat Radiators;
- Thermal Vacuum Tests;
- Cooling Systems;
- Oxygen;
- Spacecraft Radiators;
- Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer