Speaker
Description
To dissipate large amount of heat two-phase (2-Φ) mechanical pumping loops (MPLs) are often required. Compared to their passive counterparts, such as heat pipes, 2-Φ MPLs are suitable for high heat dissipation, distributed payloads and can improve the uniformity of surface temperature.
One of the main issues in the implementation of MPL on a CubeSat platform is the difficulty in miniaturisation of the pump, the failure of which directly results in a failure of the cooling system. To successful integrate a MPL into a CubeSat - a micropump must have several important characteristics - highly compact formfactor, excellent reliability, energy efficient and an ability to withstand high working pressures above 10 MPa.
To overcome these issues, a novel micropump based on a patented counter-wound solenoid coil technology was developed in a five-array manifold, producing 46 kPa and 150 ml/min, this system was subjected to vibrational shock, high pressure (>15 MPa) and the fluidic characterises were examined at each testing stage.
A 2-Φ MPL system using Novec 7100 as working fluid was used to measure the heat dissipation that could be achieved with the manifold system as a function of input power to the manifold (0.3-1.5W), dissipating up to 325 W (15.3 W/cm3); additional the heat dissipation was also examined as functional number of pumps in the manifold - 1, 3 & 5 units, dissipating 200, 290 & 325 W respectively.
