Analysis of the Effect of Layer Perforation Pattern on the Rate of Gas Leakage from Multilayer Thermal Insulation During Satellite Launch

Abstract

One of the passive components of the satellite Thermal control subsystem is multilayer insulation. In order to prevent air from being trapped between the multilayer insulation layers, which causes the thin layers to inflate and disintegrate during satellite launches, holes are made in the layers. These holes in different layers may not be aligned due to heat transfer problems as well as manufacturing constraints. For maximum thermal efficiency of thermal insulation, gas outlets must be designed to have the least resistance to exhaust gas flow, because the air trapped between the layers will greatly reduce the insulation efficiency by leaving a convective heat transfer path between them. In this article, different perforation matrix that have been used in articles are reviewed. By analyzing the computational fluid dynamics of gas outflow from these insulators, the effect of various parameters has been studied.

Keywords

• multilayer insulation
• trapped air discharge
• perforation matrix
• launch
• hole diameter
• drilling intervals