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Completed TRL 6 (started at 5, targeting 6)
NASA’s planetary science and human exploration programs are developing long life nuclear power systems to address the growing electrical power requirements of future missions. Typically these power systems convert the nuclear heat to electricity using solid-state thermoelectric conversion. In the past decade, dynamic power conversion has made significant progress using free-piston Stirling convertors, which have shown orders of magnitude improvements in thermal to electric power conversion efficiency. This research aims to flight test an innovative passive thermal control system, called a Radial Core Heat Spreader (RCHS), which couples the Stirling convertor to the heat rejection system and provide up to 10 times the thermal conductance. Also see T0014 and this article.
Presentation at the Ninth International Conference on Two-Phase Systems for Ground and Space Applications Baltimore, MD Sept. 22-26, 2014: Two Phase Titanium Water Heat Pipe for Space Rated Stirling Power Conversion
This technology has been infused in Kilopower. Also see this presentation.
Technology Maturation
This technology has been named the Radial Core Heat Spreader (RCHS) and uses a titanium structure and capillary wick with water as the working fluid. Numerous prototypes of the RCHS where fabricated and underwent laboratory and reduced gravity performance testing to address as many of the design requirements as could be affordably tested. The RCHS technology h
Heat pipe technologies will benefit future NASA space missions by enabling passive heat rejection of high power systems such as nuclear thermal propulsion, radioisotope power systems and electric propulsion.
Future Customers
The RCHS was launched on a Black Brant IX sounding rocket on July 7, 2015. Two identical RCHS units were flown in the experiment section of the rocket with one oriented in the horizontal XY plane and the other in the vertical YZ plane. The units were oriented in this way to test the best and worst case configuration that might be used on future spacecraft. The objective of the experiment was to test the RCHS’s thermal performance throughout launch and into the microgravity environment.
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