Browsing by Author "Prado Montes, Paula"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item ExoMars Rover and Surface Platform Mission: LHPs Acceptance and Qualification Campaign(46th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2016-07-10) Munì, Manuela; Negri, Federica; Ferrero, Andrea; Prado Montes, Paula; Alary, CoralieThe design of the ExoMars Rover Module (RM) required the application of innovating thermal control technologies to sustain the extreme temperatures of the Mars surface. Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) are the cornerstone of the RM thermal control system, being used for heat transport during peaks of dissipations and as thermal switches to insulate the Rover internal payloads during the cold Martian night, by means of pressure regulating valves. A qualification campaign was carried out to confirm the robustness of the system thermal design and the capability of these devices to sustain the environmental loads. This paper is focused on the thermal development and qualification campaign of the ExoMars 2018 RM LHPs and on the relevant lessons learnt.Item Operation of an Eight-Loop Heat Pipe Architecture for High Dissipative Applications(51st International Conference on Environmental Systems, 7/10/2022) Prado Montes, Paula; Lefort, Georges; Pastor Fernández, José Luis; Beck, Felix; Macías Jiménez, SandraArchitectures with several Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) connected to a network of Heat Pipes (HPs) can be considered as an attractive solution for space missions with highly dissipative equipment onboard. This kind of architecture allows transferring significant heat loads efficiently on long distances towards different cold thermal sinks, while ensuring stable and uniform temperature of the dissipating units. Operation of several LHPs in parallel has been historically considered unstable due to the intrinsic features of the LHP performance during transients and in particular for start-up. A system based on eight LHPs connected to a network of 12 HPs has been defined for the thermal control of all Dual State Solid Power Amplifiers (DSSPAs) in a highly dissipative Active Antenna. The system design has been challenged to cope with stringent operational requirements such as high heat transport capability in the range of 5kW and temperature homogeneity among the DSSPAs, with temperature gradients < 5K. To prove the concept, a dedicated Thermal Model (TM) has been built and tested at different operational scenarios and boundary conditions. The TM consists of eight LHPs distributed on a network of 12 HPs in parallel, each LHP being mounted on six HPs, so that each HP remains in contact with at least three, and up to five, LHP evaporators. The TM has been tested both in vacuum and in climatic chamber. The test sequence included start-up in cold and hot environment and from different initial conditions including dry-out and preconditioning, shut-down tests and performance with several power and sink levels, with and without heat leaks to the reservoir. Start-up and shut down ability of the LHPs, plus reliability of the system operating during steady conditions and transients has been proven.Item Thermal Control System for Low Noise Amplifiers based on Loop Heat Pipes(46th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 2016-07-10) Prado Montes, Paula; Mishkinis, Donatas; Corrochano, Javier; Torres, Alejandro; Lapensée, StéphaneThe thermal control of current telecommunications satellites is limited by the fact that the Low Noise Amplifiers (LNA) are installed close to the antenna feed sources and dedicated radiators are accommodated near the LNA. That implies reduced radiating areas and unfavorable radiating environments. The use of Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs) for the LNA thermal control allows delocalization of the radiator, while providing an efficient link with the dissipating unit and avoiding the use of expensive and heavy structures for radiators protection, which are used today. A thermal control system based on LHPs (LNA-LHP) has been developed. The LNA-LHP concept was defined based on an extensive and detailed trade-off with main drivers the operation at low temperatures, close to -40 ºC, and at wide heat transport capability ranges, from 6 W to 175 W. As a result, the LNA-LHP was designed including two condensers in parallel, each one connected to a dedicated radiator (i.e. North and South). The flow in the loop is directed to the radiator facing the coldest environment thanks to the operation of a capillary blocker. Also, the flow can be redirected by the activation of Pressure Regulating Valves (PRV). In symmetric conditions (i.e. equinox) the flow is shared between both radiators. PRV can be included for temperature regulation at evaporator level. Thanks to the LNA-LHP system flexibility, radiators can be located at any place of the spacecraft. To provide scalability, the heat spreading over the radiator is performed via Arterial Heat Pipes. The LNA-LHP concept has been validated through simulation in EcosimPro and testing, with the thermal characterization in vacuum of a representative Engineering Model. The successful results prove that the system is able to provide the thermal control for at least four applications in current telecommunications satellites, being extendable for Earth observation, scientific and other missions.