Designing of a Passive Radiator for Interplanetary Space Applications

Abstract

The satellites are used for a large number of purposes like for societal applications, defence and for civil purposes. Thus, different types of instruments are on-boarded in spacecraft in order to gather the fruitful informations.

These instruments and electronic packages inside the satellite are called as payloads. And all such electronic subsystems generate heat inside the satellite as it works on electronic mode. For example the heat generated by the subsystems of camera inside the satellite or heat liberated through the PCB of these instruments. And these heat generated by them create an unfavorable environment for the whole system. Hence the aim is to remove the heat generated by these packages to the heat sink in order to maintain the temperature of various spacecraft subsystems within the allowable temperature specification limit.

Now, in order to remove the heat there are two ways of thermal control systems in space applications, categorically Active thermal control system and Passive thermal control system. As in the Active type of control system includes the power consuming, rotating elements etc. hence here a passive way is chosen in order to have optimum weight and volume.

Thus, here to remove the heat a passive radiator is used, also the radiator used should not get affected by the heat loads coming from the space environment like (solar load, albedo load and Planet IR load). Hence, the aim of present study is to effectively design a passive radiator for interplanetary space missions so that both need i.e. to overcome the heat liberated inside and to reflect the heat loads coming from space.

The whole system is modeled and simulated in FEA software NX 8.5. For prior analysis the flat plate radiator was used. But due to its limitations, few of the geometrical modification was done and then carried out analysis on it. It was found that the pair of radiator-reflector assembly was more efficient then flat plate radiator.