A HEAT PIPE RADIATOR AS A LIGHTWEIGHT COOLING COMPONENT FOR MILITARY COMBAT VEHICLES

THE PHASE I RESEARCH WILL ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF THE INNOVATIVE CONCEPT OF A HEAT PIPE RADIATOR AS A LIGHTWEIGHT COOLING COMPONENT FOR MILITARY COMBAT VEHICLES, THROUGH EXPERIMENTAL WORK. HEAT PIPES ARE HIGH EFFICIENCY LIGHTWEIGHT HEAT TRANSFER EQUIPMENT THAT HAVE NO MOVING PARTS. MOREOVER A HEAT PIPE NETWORK WILL CONTINUE TO WORK, EVEN IF, ONE OR MORE OF THE HEAT PIPES ARE DAMAGED. THIS ALMOST FAIL-SAFE CHARACTERISTIC HAS MADE HEAT PIPE A WIDELY USED EQUIPMENT IN SPACE APPLICATIONS, WHERE MICROMETEOROIDS POSE A THREAT THAT IS SIMILAR TO SMALL ARMS THREAT FACED BY MILITARY VEHICLES. THE PROPOSED ANALYSIS AND THE EXPERIMENTAL WORK WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE RESULTS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE HEAT PIPE RADIATOR, INCLUDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS MATERIALS, WORKING FLUIDS, WICK STRUCTURE, AND THE OPERATING TEMPERATURE AND LOAD.