Space Station heat pipe advanced radiator element (SHARE) flight test results and analysisThe SHARE experiment, which consisted of a single 51 ft long by 1 ft wide prototypical Space Station heat pipe radiator panel, was flown aboard STS-29 in March 1989. Several problems were uncovered during the flight which limited performance. Extensive post-flight analysis has revealed that the manifold connecting the evaporator and condenser sections did not prime properly in 0-g, and that a mismatch in hydraulic diameters between the evaporator and condenser caused large bubbles to be present in the liquid channel at startup. These bubbles subsequently became trapped at the evaporator entrance, halting liquid flow and causing premature dryout of the evaporator wall grooves. The experiment did demonstrate heat pipe transport capability of up to 1572 W with near isothermality in both the evaporator and condenser for short periods of time.
Document ID
19900032600
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Kosson, Robert (Grumman Aerospace Corp. Bethpage, NY, United States)
Brown, Richard (Grumman Aerospace Corp. Bethpage, NY, United States)
Ungar, Eugene (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)