Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering

Cryogenic loop heat pipes for space and terrestrial applications

4^th International Conference and Exhibition on Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

October 03-04, 2016 Orlando, USA

Triem T Hoang

TTH Research Inc., USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Appl Mech Eng

Abstract:

Cryo-cooling is needed for a variety of space-based usage from maintaining the Infrared sensors of the space telescopes at very low temperatures to storing propellants or life-support Oxygen for the long-duration expeditions and planetary colonization. Terrestrial applications also benefit greatly from an effective cryo-cooling technology. Superconducting electromagnets in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner, for example, are manufactured using wires composed of Niobium-Titanium (NbTi) or Niobium-Tin (NbSn), which must be cooled to below 10K in a bath of about 1,700 liters of liquid Helium. Due to the boil-off losses of the existing design, costly refilling of the Helium bath has to be done frequently. Unfortunately, Helium is being depleted at an astonishing rate and, being non-renewable, the experts have warned that the world Helium reserve could run out within 25 to 30 years. Loop Heat Pipe (LHP) is a passive capillary heat transport device having no mechanical moving part to wear out or to require lubrication. Thus, it is highly reliable/durable and, more importantly, maintenance-free. The room-temperature LHPs have been routinely used in the spacecraft thermal control systems. The cryogenic version has gained the Technology Readiness Level of 4 with a series of performance demonstrations carried out by several research institutions. It has been proposed as a cryo-cooling transport for the cryo-coolers. But much still remain to be done. The current state of the cryogenic LHPs and the potential applications are the main focus of this paper.

Biography :

Email: thoang7291@aol.com