Simulation of the thermal control system of nanosatellite using the loop heat pipes under the orbital flight conditions

Abstract

One of the key problems in the development of nanosatellites is to provide a given temperature range for the operation of the on-board computer. The constantly increasing information load leads to the need to use more advanced processors with high thermal design power (TDP). The indicated thermal regime of processors can be achieved using remote heat removal systems - miniature loop heat pipes. Using a model of nanosatellite as an example, a thermal control system with miniature loop heat pipes is designed. The simulation was carried out in the Siemens NX program in the elliptical and geostationary orbits of the Earth. The cooling schemes of the processor with a thermal power of 15 W using one and two loop heat pipes are considered. Calculations showed that the use of loop heat pipes can reduce the processor temperature to acceptable values. The anisotropy of the thermal conductivity coefficient in the reinforcement plane of the composite material of the nanosatellite case can have a significant effect on the temperature of the processor. This opens up prospects for the use of anisotropic composite materials to ensure the thermal regime of the nanosatellite.

Keywords

• nanosatellite
• loop heat pipes
• composite materials
• carbon fiber reinforced plastic
• anisotropy of thermal conductivity coefficient
• math modeling
• finite element method