High Conductance Thermally Stable Panels and Structures

High conductivity materials, which minimize temperature gradients, can be designed as high efficiency lightweight radiators, conductive heat distribution panels, and other thermal management components. By increasing efficiency and reducing the complexity of thermal control systems, dramatic reductions in vehicle mass can be achieved. k Technology Corporation (kTC) has developed a family of high performance thermal management materials, named k-Core, with specific conductivity (k/density) values up to seven times that of aluminum (440 [W/mK]/[g/cm3] vs. 64 [W/mK]/[g/cm3]). Fielded k-Core material solutions are engineered to provide high conductance under the severe space environments. This material system is a highly conductive (>1000 W/mK) macro-composite comprised of annealed pyrolytic graphite (APG) encapsulated within an aluminum shell. APG is highly aligned crystalline graphite with an in-plane thermal conductivity of 1700 W/mK. This proposal offers an approach to expand the applications of this material through the development of materials and processes to enable the design and production of thin k-Core panels (< 0.5 mm). kTC will develop the technologies necessary to allow the affordable production of large thin (.5 to 1 mm) encapsulated APG panels with high APG thickness fractions (above 70%).