Two-phase device for cooling high power space electronics
TRL7
Marcia Barbosa Henriques Mantelli
Heat Pipe Laboratory
Thermal Management Systems
The general objective of this experiment is the thermal characterization of an unprecedented two-phase device for cooling high-power electronics on board satellites and spacecraft.
The innovative device consists of a space pulsating heat pipe (PHP), that is, a large diameter PHP, which would not operate in a terrestrial environment. An internal diameter of 6 mm was chosen to form the closed-loop channel of the PHP. This channel diameter is larger than the critical capillary diameter for a device operating on Earth, considering the chosen working fluid (FC-72). It should be noted that a PHP works properly if its channel diameter is smaller than the critical capillary diameter, as, under these conditions, surface tension forces will be dominant in relation to buoyancy forces. Reducing gravity increases the value of the critical diameter, allowing a larger pipe to operate as a PHP (slug-plug flow) in the absence of gravity and, therefore, dissipating a greater amount of energy. With this same geometry, in terrestrial operations, this PHP would work like a thermosyphon, that is, it would depend on gravity and its orientation, while, in microgravity, the device must operate like a PHP
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Demonstrations
Experimental module for testin
Experimental module for testing an innovative PHP aboard suborbital rocket