ADVANCED HEAT PIPE BODY MOUNTED RADIATORS

AS THE NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR THE SPACE STATION, AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ENERGY REQUIREMENTS CONTINUE TO GROW, CONCERN OVER THERMAL MANAGEMENT IS INCREASING. ONE AREA OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENT IS ADVANCED METHODS FOR THE EFFECTIVE DISSIPATION OF EXCESS THERMAL ENERGY. THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR THE DISSIPATION OF THERMAL ENERGY IN SPACE IS RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER. FOR LOW TEMPERATURE APPLICATIONS IN THE RANGE OF 250-400K, ONLY LOW HEAT FLUXES CAN BE EMITTED. AT 300K, A THERMAL FLUX OF 0.50W/CM2 BLACKBODY CAN BE EMITTED. THEREFORE, TO RADIATE LARGE QUANTITIES OF POWER AT LOW TEMPERATURES, THE RADIATINGSURFACE AREA MUST BE MAXIMIZED. ONE RELATIVELY LARGE SURFACE AVAILABLE FOR THERMAL RADIATION ON THE SPACE STATIONIS THE OUTER BODY OF THE ACTIVITIES MODULES. BY ENCASING THE MODULE WITH RADIATING PANELS, THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL DEPLOYABLE RADIATORS CAN BE GREATLY REDUCED. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL IDENTIFY ADVANCED DESIGNS FOR A BODY MOUNTED RADIATOR. THE CONCEPTS WILL CONCENTRATE ON OFFERING BENEFITS IN THE AREAS OF REDUCED WEIGHT AND IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND OPERATING EFFICIENCY.