SINTERED POWDER METAL ARTERY FREE WICKS FOR LOW TEMPERATURE HEAT PIPES

CURRENT NASA REQUIREMENTS INCLUDE A NEED FOR ONE METER LONG LOW TEMPERATURE HEAT PIPES CAPABLE OF CARRYING 5 TO 50 W OF POWER WITH EVAPORATOR HEAT FLUXES AS HIGH AS 1 W/IN(2). AXIALLY GROOVED HEAT PIPES ARE UNDESIRABLE FOR SOME APPLICATIONS BECAUSE OF POOR LIFT AND/OR LOW EVAPORATIVE HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT. RECENT ADVANCES IN SINTERED POWDER METAL TECHNOLOGY AT THERMACORE HAVE RESULTED IN SINTERED WICKS CAPABLE OF MEETING THE ABOVE TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS WHILE ALSO DEMONSTRATING FIVE TO FIFTEEN TIMES THE LIFT CAPABILITY, AND TEN TO ONE-HUNDRED TIMES THE EVAPORATIVE HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT OF GROOVED DESIGNS. ALL OF THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT THE NEED FOR ARTERIES. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS TO DEMONSTRATE THROUGH ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENT THE CAPABILITIES OF SINTERED POWDER METAL HEAT PIPES TO MEET SHORT-TERM NASA REQUIREMENTS WHILE DEMONSTRATING ORDER-OF-MAGNITUDE IMPROVEMENTS IN EVAPORATIVE HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT AND LIFT CAPABILITY. THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL INCLUDE UPDATING DESIGN REQUIREMENTS, HIGH-PERMEABILITY SINTERED WICK DEVELOPMENT, FULL-SCALE HEAT TRANSPORT SYSTEM DESIGN, AND DEMONSTRATION OF A METER-LONG PROOF-OF-CONCEPT HEAT PIPE CAPABLE OF OPERATION AT 100 DEGREES K. THE POTENTIAL NASA APPLICATIONSFOR THIS TECHNOLOGY INCLUDE ROTATING VEHICLE MANNED MARS MISSIONS, EARTH OBSERVATION SYSTEMS WITH RESTRICTED VIEW TO SPACE, AND HIGH ENERGY DETECTORS.