Utilization of polymeric smart materials for heterarchical thermal control of spacecrafts systems
- Starsys Research Corporation, 6350 Nautilus Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80301 (United States)
- NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 (United States)
A passive thermal switch was developed to enable heterarchical (decentralized) thermal control of spacecraft components. The switch utilizes an expansive polymer (paraffin) as the working medium. The thermal switch is a small mechanical stand-off with a variable conductance ranging from 0.015 W/K to 0.45 W/C as the temperature of the component to which it is connected varies from 290 K to 298 K. This device enables accurate, non-electronic thermal control of spacecraft components when used to connect the component-to-be-controlled to a heat sink. Variations in heat load to the component are accommodated by the variable conductance of the switch. The use of the thermal switch as the basis for a heterarchical thermal control strategy is presented. The design and operation of the heat switch is discussed. Results from thermal vacuum testing are presented with a summary of test-derived characteristics. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 385433
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960109-; ISSN 0094-243X; TRN: 9618M0035
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 361, Issue 1; Conference: STAIF 96: space technology and applications international forum, Albuquerque, NM (United States), 7-11 Jan 1996; Other Information: PBD: Mar 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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