SBIR/STTR Research Award
SPACECRAFT THERMAL MANAGEMENT USING METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE
Award amount
$50,000Program and phase
SBIR · Phase IAward year
1991Award details
- Awarding agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Branch
- Not reported
- Recipient company
- COMPOSITE APPLICATIONS, INC.
- Proposal award date
- Not reported
- Contract end date
- Not reported
- UEI
- YX6JWLH8U839
- Solicitation number
- Not reported
- Topic code
- Not reported
Research abstract
THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITE (MMC) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THAT OF UNREINFORCED ALUMINUM. RELATED INVESTIGATIONS HAVE FURTHER DEMONSTRATED THAT SUBSTITUTION OF GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM MMC FOR ALUMINUM IN SPACE-BASED RADIATORS CAN IMPROVE THERMAL TRANSFER BY MORE THAN 25 PERCENT, AS WELL AS REDUCE RADIATOR WEIGHT. CONTINUED ANALYSIS IMPLIES THAT, BY SUBSTITUTING COPPER-MATRIX MMC FOR ALUMINUM-MATRIX MMC, A SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER HEAT TRANSFER RATE IS ATTAINABLE WITH ONLY A MODEST INCREASE IN RADIATOR WEIGHT. IMPROVEMENTS IN HEAT TRANSFER RESULT FROM HIGHER THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY PLUS THE ELEVATION OF RADIATOR OPERATING TEMPERATURE. OTHER BENEFITS ARE DERIVED FROM THE LOW, TAILORABLE COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION (CTE) OF THE MMC. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO ESTABLISH HOW GRAPHITE-COPPER CAN IMPROVE SPACECRAFT THERMALMANAGEMENT, AND TO SHOW THE EXTENT OF THIS IMPROVEMENT WHEN COMPARED WITH EITHER ALUMINUM OR COPPER ALONE. THE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITE (MMC) HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THAT OF UNREINFORCED ALUMINUM. RELATED INVESTIGATIONS HAVE FURTHER DEMONSTRATED THAT SUBSTITUTION OF GRAPHITE-ALUMINUM MMC FOR ALUMINUM IN SPACE-BASED RADIATORS CAN IMPROVE THERMAL TRANSFER BY MORE THAN 25 PERCENT, AS WELL AS REDUCE RADIATOR WEIGHT. CONTINUED ANALYSIS IMPLIES THAT, BY SUBSTITUTING COPPER-MATRIX MMC FOR ALUMINUM-MATRIX MMC, A SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER HEAT TRANSFER RATE IS ATTAINABLE WITH ONLY A MODEST INCREASE IN RADIATOR WEIGHT. IMPROVEMENTS IN HEAT TRANSFER RESULT FROM HIGHER THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY PLUS THE ELEVATION OF RADIATOR OPERATING TEMPERATURE. OTHER BENEFITS ARE DERIVED FROM THE LOW, TAILORABLE COEFFICIENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION (CTE) OF THE MMC. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS TO ESTABLISH HOW GRAPHITE-COPPER CAN IMPROVE SPACECRAFT THERMALMANAGEMENT, AND TO SHOW THE EXTENT OF THIS IMPROVEMENT WHEN COMPARED WITH EITHER ALUMINUM OR COPPER ALONE.
Technology keywords
Not reported
Other awards by this recipient
Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.
Research funding history
2 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (1991–2006). Reported award amounts total $129,852. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.
Phases: Phase I
Agencies: Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration