3. Heat Sinks for Satellite Electronics Cooling - Cumã II
Period:
2005 / 2007
Description:
This experiment intends to study heat sinks. Four different heat sink configurations (50mm x 50mm area and thickness ranging from 2mm to 15mm) have been studied, with the basic difference being the type of working fluid. Mini heat pipes operate under the same principle as conventional heat pipes: an evacuated tube with a small amount of working fluid inside (distilled water, methanol, or acetone). The experiment involves a test module in which the heat sinks are inserted, and a data acquisition module in which information is stored. The four heat pipes were tested in identical condition, which allowed thermal performance comparison. The operational conditions of mini heat pipes depend strongly on the boiling and condensation processes occurring inside, which are strongly influenced by gravity. Therefore, such devices which are efficient under gravity and are widely used for electronic device cooling in laptops, for example, may present lower performance in satellites. Therefore, the main contribution of this research is in analyzing the device thermal performance in micro-gravity.
Members:
Augusto Buschinelli
Jay Ochterbeck
Júlio César Passos
Kleber Vieira da Paiva
Leonardo Kessler Slongo
Marcia Barbosa Henriques Mantelli
Funding:
Agência Espacial Brasileira - AEB (financial aid)
