Steady-state performance analysis of loop heat pipe radiator in space reactor

Abstract

The loop heat pipe has a good application prospect in the field of space reactor radiator because of its characteristics of the separation of gas/liquid pipelines and the long-distance efficient heat transfer. The comprehensive performance analysis of loop heat pipe radiator for space reactor is carried out by the heat balance calculation method based on energy coupling iteration proposed in this paper. The loop heat pipe radiator models of different configurations were developed using the mass and energy conservation theory. The models were validated by experimental data of the loop heat pipe under various heat loads. The model in this paper can correctly simulate the steady-state operation characteristics of loop heat pipe, and evaluate the design of loop heat pipe radiator for space reactor. The performance of loop heat pipe radiator was analyzed in this paper under various design conditions such as power, evaporation temperature, and heat sink temperature. The results show that the thermal operating parameters have significant effect on characteristics of loop heat pipe radiator. The design length of the condenser pipe was considered as an important factor to achieve steady state heat balance under different design power. Meanwhile, the operation characteristics of loop heat pipe radiator with different configurations were compared, which demonstrated that the performance of panel-type radiator was better than fin-type radiator.