A new temperature treatment method of near-space crew capsule using phase change material

Abstract

Environment control system of the near-space capsule is of great importance to maintain a comfortable environment and working conditions for crew members as well as onboard equipments. Temperature, as the most important parameter, is controlled by the phase change cool storage device in crew capsule. To improve the design of environment control system, a numerical study of the thermal environment within a crew capsule suspending in the stratosphere was conducted in this article. The main structure and thermodynamic parameters of the phase change cool storage device were calculated. The numerical results showed that the air temperature distribution of the crew capsule was reasonably good with a variation range between 21°C∼27°C. To test the effect of this new method, a simulative capsule was set up to address an experimental study. The experimental results showed that, the indoor temperature rise was effectively suppressed under the temperature treatment compared to none—temperature treatment. This research demonstrated an improved temperature control approach using phase change material, and the research findings can contribute toward an improved environmental control system design for near-space crew capsules.