Computer Code to Model Loop Heat Pipe Transients

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) centers have incorporated or is contemplating the use of Loop Heat Pipes (LHP) in many of their current and future spacecraft designs. However, there is currently no means for a typical spacecraft thermal engineer, with limited technical knowledge of two-phase flow and LHP technology, to incorporate LHP functionality into their thermal models. The proposed LHP code, in its final form, will enable the spacecraft thermal engineer to effectively model their LHP TCS that is coupled to the spacecraft. It will be able to provide valuable insights during early program trade-off studies, by making independent evaluation of varying LHP TCS designs possible, and will allow the thermal engineer to accurately predict/bound tests and on-orbit performances. The LHP code can be integrated with any industry standard thermal analyzer, and will require only input data that can be provided by the LHP vendor. Expertise in LHP technology will not be required to utilize the code.