Space Zoo Patrol – Rovers – Heat Management

By  Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (ACT), Jens Weyant, Pres.

  1. What is the name of this technology? 

ACT engineers and manufactures a wide range of “thermal management technologies” for many industries including the space industry. Our space heat management pipes are called Constant Conductance Heat Pipes (CCHPs). Our space heat pipes have over 85 million hours on orbit.

  1. What does it do?

CCHPs move heat away from critical hardware to a safer place (such as a radiator panel) on a spacecraft or a Lunar Rover. Doing so prevents overheating of critical hardware.

  1. How does it work?

They are made of aluminum and most often, filled with a working fluid of ammonia. These heat pipes have a unique groove structure on the inside of the heat pipe that allows vapor to flow with the addition of a heat source. These heat pipes can be bent and formed into different shapes to account for a spacecraft’s or Lunar Rover’s unique thermal needs.

  1. How is it better than the older technology?

            Early spacecraft (the first satellite with heat transport pipes was launched in

1968) and the original Lunar Rovers used standard conduction (with heat transport capacity of 167 Watts / meter Kelvin) to move the heat off critical features. Now with the new CCHPs (with heat effective heat transport capacity ranging from 10,000 – 100,000 Watts / meter Kelvin), Lunar Rovers and other space technologies are much safer.

  1. What classes should I take in school to work on this?

Aerospace engineering and mechanical/technical classes.

  1. Pictures
Rovers - Heat Management 1
Rovers - Heat Management 2
  1. Links

CONSTANT CONDUCTANCE HEAT PIPES

www.1-act.com/thermal-solutions/space/constant-conductance-heat-pipes