Conveners
Thermal Control
- Vito Laneve (ESA)
Spacecraft thermal control systems often favour the use of passive elements due to their simpler implementation compared to active systems. When heat is to be transferred via radiation, coatings and paints are typically used on the control surfaces of the items of interest so their thermo-optical properties enable this transfer as required. However, these methods come with their drawbacks such...
Metal Additive Manufacturing, particularly Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF), is emerging as a key technology for producing high-performance components by overcoming the constraints of traditional manufacturing methods. Its design freedom enables the creation of complex, weight-optimized structures, an essential advantage in the aerospace sector.
Components such as structural brackets,...
Phase Change Materials (PCM) offer the possibility to store thermal energy directly as latent heat of fusion. This well-known principle is now coming back on the scene due to its numerous advantages: stability of temperature control, absence of moving parts, reduced radiator size, reduced housekeeping power, etc.
The first part of this presentation deals with the main advantages and...