Two-Phase Thermal Management Systems for Space

Abstract

Active two-phase thermal management systems have been shown to be weight and power effective for space platforms dissipating over 20 kWt of waste heat. A two-phase thermal management system can provide nearly isothermal heat transport at mass flows significantly lower than required for single-phase systems by employing a working fluid's latent heat rather than absorbing the heat sensibly in temperature change. Phase management issues specific to reduced gravity include pump cavitation, loop inventory control and potential dry out in the evaporator. Hamilton Sundstrand has developed and demonstrated in a reduced gravity aircraft environment, a suite of two-phase technologies that manage the liquid-vapor phase distribution. These technologies keep the liquid phase available at the pump inlet for pumping and present at heat acquisition boundaries for evaporation. This paper reviews these technologies for future high power, long duration space platforms.