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2.3 Satellite Heat Pipes
A heat pipe is a heat transfer device that can transport large quantities of heat between
two interfaces that have very small temperature difference. Heat pipes are used widely
in air-conditioners, refrigerators, capacitors, transistors and etc. They have also a sig-
nificant application in the field of cryogenics, especially in the development of space
technology [24]. Until recently, the use of heat pipes has mainly been limited to the
space technology due to cost effectiveness and complex wick construction of heat
pipes. The main applications of heat pipes in the space technology are [25]:
Temperature equalization of spacecraft.
Component cooling and temperature control in satellites.
Removal of heat from the reactor and elimination of troublesome thermal gradients
along the collector in spacecrafts.
A schematic of satellite heat pipe is illustrated in Fig. 3. Five important parameters
including length of flange fin (L f ), cutting length of adhesive attached area (L c ),
thickness of fin (t f ), adhesive thickness (t b ), and operation temperature (T op ) are con-
sidered as design variables.
Fig. 3. Schematic of a satellite heat pipe
2.3.1 Example of Satellite Heat Pipe Design
Geem and Hwangbo [26] considered the design of a satellite heat pipe whose objectives
were minimization of the heat pipe mass and maximization of thermal conductance.
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