Multi objective design optimization of heat pipes configuration attached to the solar panels of a sun pointing satellite

Abstract

Decreasing satellite solar arrays temperature, results in increasing electrical efficiency. Efficiently and subsequently power generation enhancements have several advantages. One of the modern techniques for balancing temperature conditions is employing heat pipes. In the present paper, design optimization of heat pipes configuration attached to the solar arrays of a sun-pointing satellite is conducted using multiobjective genetic optimization algorithm. The objective of optimization is to reduce solar cells temperature and utilized heat pipes mass simultaneously. Thermal simulations of the satellite are carried out with SINDA/FLUINT and Thermal Desktop softwares. The numerical simulations are validated against experimental measurements of the satellite thermal model in a vacuum chamber. Afterwards, the multiobjective genetic algorithm produced the optimal configurations of the heat pipes using the optimal Pareto concept. Six different designs on the Pareto front are selected and their corresponding results are discussed.

Keywords

• satellite
• heat pipe
• solar panels
• genetic optimization algorithm