Roadmap for developing heat pipes for ALCATEL SPACE’s satellites

Heat pipe has become a common thermal control component on satellites since the beginning of its industrial development in 1970s. ALCATEL SPACE develops and manufactures its own axially grooved heat pipes made of aluminium and with ammonia as working fluid. After a quick overview of heat pipe development for space applications worldwide, the present paper will give an outlook of ALCATEL SPACE’s heat pipes and their thermal performances. The Research & Development activities are strongly concerned with new heat pipe developments. Indeed there is a need for an upgraded technology to meet the future thermal control requirements on telecommunication and scientific satellites. A roadmap gives the objectives to reach and the technical challenges to overcome. The main technical characteristics that need to be addressed are: • an increase in heat transport capability, • a higher heat flux density, • an extension of the operational temperature range, • a characterisation of the reflux mode for ground testing. To develop such an upgraded heat pipe, it is necessary to gain understanding on the physical processes which rule heat pipes. A three year Ph.D. research work is on going with experiments on a heat pipe testing apparatus at the University laboratory LET (Laboratoire d’Etudes Thermiques), Poitiers. Modelling studies are also being developed. The outcome of these studies will be useful to design optimised heat pipe profiles.