University of Twente Student Theses
The Design of an In-Orbit Demonstration for a Mini Mechanically Pumped Cooling Loop in a CubeSat.
Oude Engberink, M.G. (2024) The Design of an In-Orbit Demonstration for a Mini Mechanically Pumped Cooling Loop in a CubeSat.
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| Abstract: | In the rapidly advancing field of aerospace, smallsats are becoming increasingly dominant in their presence in low earth orbit. Additionally, the ever-decreasing size of transistors and microchips in electronics causes the power density of the electronics in these relatively small satellites to increase. These two trends combined cause heat dissipation from satellite structures to become more difficult, making it progressively harder to cool such structures using passive cooling. Active cooling loops offer a solution by using a working fluid to transport heat from the heat-generating electronics to a radiator that dissipates the heat into space, making the cooling process more powerful. These loops require a pump to function, which is why NLR and Demcon Kryoz designed a micro-pump suited for smallsats that induces a flow of fluid using several vibrating piezo elements. To test the ability of this micro-pump to function in space and to survive the launch loads, an in- orbit demonstration is required. In this report, the in-orbit demonstration experiment is designed in a step-by-step design process. Several components that make up this in-orbit demonstration to test the functionality of the micro-pump are fluidic components that are part of the cooling loop, as well as structural elements to create a rigid design and electrical components to control the pump and the heat inputs of the experiment. The report features the build-up of concepts, detailed design, and finally the system analysis. This system analysis contains a budget reflection that shows that the design complies with the weight-, volume- and power budget set by the system integrator. Additionally, it features multiple calculations and simulations to mechanically, fluidically, and thermally estimate the performance of the final design of the in-orbit demonstration. From the mechanical analysis, the design is shown to be able to cope with the sine- and random vibrations that the satellite will experience during the launch process with a positive margin on yield strength and relatively small deformations. Moreover, the fluidic components are proven to be able to handle the pressure build-up that might occur due to rising system temperatures. The fluidic analysis shows that the entire cooling loop has a pressure drop of 3.4 mbar in the worst-case scenario, which is a pressure drop that the pump can overcome as shown in several performance tests. The thermal analysis shows that the temperature of the system will not exceed the set temperature range boundaries in both operational mode and idle mode. The percentage of the input heat that is dissipated into space through the radiator is between 50% and 85% depending on the satellite frame temperature and the power rating of the heat source. The design is shown to conform to almost all requirements set in cooperation with NLR and the system integrator. Improvements that can be made to support the concept design are more thorough vibration analyses, bolt calculations, fatigue calculations and thermal expansion calculations. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Clients: | Demcon Kryoz, Enschede, Netherlands |
| Faculty: | ET: Engineering Technology |
| Subject: | 33 physics, 52 mechanical engineering |
| Programme: | Mechanical Engineering MSc (60439) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/100601 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
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