A Thermosyphon Titanium-Water Heat Pipe Design for a Lunar Surface Power System
- Thermacore Inc. 780 Eden Road Lancaster, PA 17601 (United States)
A long titanium-water thermosyphon heat pipe was designed and tested in support of NASA's lunar surface power system. With a {delta}T of 11.6 C, a prototype has been shown to meet the temperature drop specification of 15 C at 400 W and 400 K. The heat pipe is designed to be embedded in a composite radiator panel to spread waste heat delivered by a circulating pumped loop. The major challenge was managing the fluid inventory to balance the conflicting requirements of power capacity and freeze-thaw tolerance. A unique hybrid wick was designed to achieve the required thermal performance and yet store all the working fluid during idle periods in a freeze-thaw tolerant fashion. A non-condensable gas charge was used to boost power capacity at lower operating temperatures. Eighteen prototypes will be built and tested.
- OSTI ID:
- 21293383
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1103, Issue 1; Conference: SPESIF-2009: International technical forum on space, propulsion and energy sciences, Huntsville, AL (United States), 24-26 Feb 2009; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3115560; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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