Passive Control of a Loop Heat Pipe with Thermal Control Valve for Lunar Lander Application

Abstract

It is often desirable to partially or completely shut down a Loop Heat Pipe (LHP), for example, to maintain the temperature of electronics connected to the LHP on a satellite during an eclipse. The standard way to control the LHP is to apply electric power to heat the compensation chamber. The amount of electrical power to shut down an LHP during an eclipse on orbit is generally reasonable. On the other hand, for LHPs on Lunar and Martian Landers and Rovers, the electrical power requirements can be excessive. For example, the Anchor Node Mission for the International Lunar Network (ILN) has a Warm Electronics Box (WEB) and a battery, both of which must be maintained in a fairly narrow temperature range using a variable thermal conductance link. During the Lunar day, heat must be transferred from the WEB to a radiator as efficiently as possible. During the night, heat transfer from the WEB must be minimized to keep the electronics and batteries warm with minimal power, even with a very low (100 K) heat sink. A mini-LHP has the highest Technology Readiness Level, but requires electrical power to shut-down during the 14-day lunar night, with a significant penalty in battery mass: 1 watt of electrical power translates into 5kg of battery mass. A mini-LHP with a Thermal Control Valve (TCV) was developed to shut down without electrical power. An aluminum/ammonia LHP which included a TCV in the vapor exit line from the evaporator was designed, fabricated and tested. The TCV could route vapor to the condenser, or bypass the condenser and route back to the compensation chamber, depending upon the temperature conditions. During test, the LHP condenser was cycled from approximately 30°C to -60°C and the power was kept constant; the evaporator remained above 19°C.