Parametric investigation of radiation heat transfer and evaporation characteristics of a liquid droplet radiator

Abstract

The liquid droplet radiator (LDR) as a frameless heat removal system is considered as a promising solution for the waste heat dissipation of megawatt aerospace applications. The radiation heat transfer and evaporation characteristics of the LDR working fluid are tightly coupled with the operational performance of the liquid droplet generator. In this paper, the effects of operational parameters of droplet generator on the radiative heat transfer and evaporation loss rate are clarified, including the pressure disturbance frequency, pressure difference between the inside and outside of the droplet generator. It is observed that higher coolant mass flow rate does not assure higher heat transfer power for the LDR. For cases with higher pressure difference, where the coolant flow rate is higher consequently, the evaporation loss rate increases continually with pressure difference while the heat transfer power does not increase any more. The disturbance frequency has inconspicuous impact on the evaporation characteristics. Besides, cases with higher pressure differences have wider suitable frequency ranges according to the droplet formation restriction. Generally, a relatively higher pressure difference coupled with a higher disturbance frequency (such as 0.3 MPa and 12 kHz) is suggested to achieve a higher heat transfer power and low evaporation loss rate. This paper may provide favorable reference for determining the operational parameters of the droplet generator in consideration of radiation heat transfer and evaporation characteristics.