Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHPs) for spacecraft thermal control typically have a cold-biased reservoir at the end of the condenser. During operation, electrical heat is supplied to the reservoir to provide ±1-2°C temperature control over widely varying powers and sink temperatures. A second application for VCHPs is as a variable thermal link for lunar landers and rovers, while minimizing the required electrical power. During the long lunar day, the VCHP must remove waste heat from the electronics and batteries to prevent overheating. During the long lunar night, the variable thermal link must passively limit the amount of heat removed from the electronics and radiated to space since little to no power is available for temperature regulation. A VCHP was developed to act as a variable thermal link for lunar landers and rovers, passively minimizing heat losses during the lunar night, without requiring electric power to shut off. In addition to acting as a thermal link, the VHCP was able to withstand multiple freeze/thaw cycles without performance degradation. Short-duration, full-power bursts were demonstrated during -60 °C and -177 °C cold shutdown. Startup of the VCHP with a frozen condenser was also demonstrated.
Variable Conductance Heat Pipes for Variable Thermal Links
2012
6 Seiten, Bilder, Tabellen, Quellen
Conference paper
English
Variable Conductance Heat Pipes for Variable Thermal Links
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2012
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