A long titanium‐water thermosyphon heat pipe was designed and tested in support of NASA’s lunar surface power system. With a of 11.6 C, a prototype has been shown to meet the temperature drop specification of 15 C at 400 W and 400 K. The heat pipe is designed to be embedded in a composite radiator panel to spread waste heat delivered by a circulating pumped loop. The major challenge was managing the fluid inventory to balance the conflicting requirements of power capacity and freeze‐thaw tolerance. A unique hybrid wick was designed to achieve the required thermal performance and yet store all the working fluid during idle periods in a freeze‐thaw tolerant fashion. A non‐condensable gas charge was used to boost power capacity at lower operating temperatures. Eighteen prototypes will be built and tested.
A Thermosyphon Titanium‐Water Heat Pipe Design for a Lunar Surface Power System
SPACE, PROPULSION & ENERGY SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL FORUM: SPESIF‐2009 ; 2009 ; Huntsville (Alabama)
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 1103 , 1 ; 51-56
16.03.2009
6 pages
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
A Thermosyphon Titanium-Water Heat Pipe Design for a Lunar Surface Power System
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009
|NTRS | 1980
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