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On-orbit Experiment Plan of Loop Heat Pipe and the Test Results of Ground Test

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Abstract

It is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the challenging thermal control requirements of modern spacecraft missions with only existing thermal control devices such as conventional heat pipes. A loop heat pipe (LHP) is an effective method to overcome some of these thermal control constraints. The LHP is a passive two-phase heat transfer device that utilizes the evaporation and condensation of a working fluid to transfer heat and capillary force to circulate the fluid. The LHP can transport much heat for a long distance against gravity and has many other excellent characteristics, such as high controllability of operating temperature and a shutdown function. In this study, LHPs for space application have been developing. As a part of the study, a bread board model (BBM) of LHP was designed and fabricated. As a result of an on-ground test of the BBM, it was confirmed that the BBM fulfilled all requirement (e.g. maximum heat transport rate, minimum required heat load for start-up, operating temperature control and shutdown function). To adopt the LHP as a heat transfer device in practical spacecraft mission, the thermal characteristics under micro-gravity conditions should be examined in advance. An on-orbit experiment of a LHP radiator system is planned. This paper describes the test plan of on-orbit experiment of a LHP radiator system on the International Space Station (ISS) and the results of thermal vacuum test of flight model for on-orbit experiment on ground.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manager for thermal division, Research and Development Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8505, Japan

    Atsushi Okamoto

  2. Research and Development Directorate, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 2-1-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8505, Japan

    Takeshi Miyakita

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 464-8603, Japan

    Hosei Nagano

Authors
  1. Atsushi Okamoto
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  2. Takeshi Miyakita
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  3. Hosei Nagano
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Correspondence to Atsushi Okamoto.

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This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Heat Pipe Systems for Thermal Management in Space

Guest Editors: Raffaele Savino, Sameer Khandekar

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Okamoto, A., Miyakita, T. & Nagano, H. On-orbit Experiment Plan of Loop Heat Pipe and the Test Results of Ground Test. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 31, 327–337 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-019-9703-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-019-9703-4

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