A LIGHTWEIGHT NON-METALLIC HEAT PIPE RADIATOR

THIS PROPOSAL IDENTIFIES AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF BUILDING A NON-METALLIC HEAT PIPE RADIATOR (NMHPR) FOR SPACE APPLICATIONS. THE CONCEPT TO BE EVALUATEDBUILDS ON THE HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO. AND NASA LANGLEY CONCEPT OF A HYBRID COUPLED HEAT REJECTION SYSTEM, BUT IMPROVES ON THE CONCEPT BY INCREASING THE MODULARITY OF THE SYSTEM AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR POST-LAUNCH ASSEMBLY AND IN-PLACE REPAIR. THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSE FOR UTILIZING LIGHTWEIGHT, NON-METALLIC RADIATOR ELEMENTS IS AN ESTIMATED 80% SAVINGS IN RADIATING FIN WEIGHT OVER CURRENT SYSTEMS. THE EXTERNAL RADIATOR WILL BE MADE OF EITHER A STIFF, TOUGH, HIGH-STRENGTH POLYMER, CARBON-EPOXY BONDED COMPOUND, OR OTHER MATERIAL (TBD). THE PHASE I EFFORT WILL CONCENTRATE ON MECHANICAL AND THERMAL DESIGN OF THE MMHPR, AS WELL AS A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OF POTENTIAL MATERIALS/WORKING FLUIDS COMPATIBILITY PROBLEMS IN A SPACE ENVIRONMENT. IT WILL BE AUGMENTED BY A DUAL-OBJECTIVE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WHICH SEEKS TO EVALUATE RADIATOR ELEMENT MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES AS WELL AS THE HEAT TRANSFER CHARACTERISTICS ACROSS A SOLID INTERFACE WHERE THE RADIATOR ELEMENTS ATTACH TO THE THERMAL TRANSPORT LEG.