Simulation of cooling of a processor in nanosatellite using the loop heat pipes

• Main Authors: Yu Wang, Oleg V. Denisov, Liliana V. Denisova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2019-12-01
• Series: RUDN Journal of Engineering Researches
• Subjects: nanosatellite; loop heat pipes; composite materials; carbon fiber reinforced plastic; anisotropy of thermal conducti- vity coefficient; math modeling
• Online Access: http://journals.rudn.ru/engineering-researches/article/viewFile/23373/18061

One of the key problems in the development of nanosatellites is to provide a given temperature range for the operation of electronic equipment, the heat transfer of which can be tens of watts. Thermoregulation systems traditional for large spacecraft are not suitable for nanosatellites due to limitations on their mass and size characteristics. The indicated thermal regime of nanosatellites can be achieved using remote heat removal systems - miniature loop heat pipes. In recent years, their mass production has been established in Russia, but they have not yet found wide application in nanosatellites. The aim of the paper is to substantiate the possibility of using miniature loop heat pipes to remove excess heat from the on-board computer processor to the carbon-plastic case of the nanosatellite. Parametric modeling of the influence of geometric dimensions and the values of the effective thermal conductivity coefficient of loop heat pipes on the processor temperature was carried out in the ANSYS program. Calculations showed that the use of contour heat pipes will 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.