Heat Rejection System for Thermal Management in Space Using Non-planar Liquid Cooled Cold Plates

Date

2017-07-16

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

47th International Conference on Environmental Systems

Abstract

A non-planar liquid cooled cold plate used in the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) Instrument thermal management system is presented. ECOSTRESS is a cryogenically cooled imaging spectrometer and will be deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) Japanese Experiment Module External Facility (JEM-EF) and is scheduled for launch in 2018. The thermal control system (TCS) consists of a combination of active and passive components to maintain the ECOSTRESS components within the allowable flight temperature (AFT) limits. The active thermal control system (ATCS) includes mechanical cryocoolers and a single-phase pumped fluid loop with circulation provided by the JEM-EF ATCS. The liquid cooled cold plate transfers the cryocooler waste heat to the fluid loop. The non-planar cryocooler heat rejection interface requires a specially designed cold plate. The heat transfer and pressure drop requirements necessitate a highly optimized cold plate. An advanced friction stir welding manufacturing technique is used to meet these demands that enables compact packaging, non-planar heat transfer interface, low thermal resistance, and minimal pressure drop. This paper describes the cold plate heat exchanger development and fabrication process, thermal and fluid performance requirements, key design drivers, and test results.

Description

ICES104: Advances in Thermal Control Technology
The 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in South Carolina, USA on 16 July 2017 through 20 July 2017
Jeff Cha, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
Brian Carroll, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
Memo Romero, RomeroMaxQ Technology LLC, Tempe, USA

Keywords

Cryocooler, Thermal Control System, Heat Rejection System, Liquid Cooled Cold Plates, ECOSTRESS, ISS, JEM-EF

Citation