Spacecraft Fluidic Thermal Control Subsystem Reliability: An Open Source Analysis

Abstract

An open-source review was conducted with the purpose of identifying and analyzing failures in spacecraft fluidic thermal control subsystems (TCSs). This review summarizes historic failure and anomaly events and analyzes the causes of failure. The four evaluated technologies are: Pumped Fluid Loops (PFLs), Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs), Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHPs), and Axially Grooved Heat Pipes (AGHPs). Reasons for fluidic thermal control subsystem failure and recommendations for future designs to prevent such failures are provided. The leading causes of failures in fluidic heat transfer systems are debris in the subsystem, faulty pump and bearing designs, and faulty quick disconnects (QDs). More complex systems are usually less reliable than simpler ones, and TCSs have an unexpectedly high failure rate proportional to complexity. For this reason, Pumped Fluid Loops are not recommended in spacecraft thermal control subsystems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 10, 2023
Accession Number
AD1195523

Entities

People

  • Jonathan Allison
  • Mary Albrecht
  • Shannon Lipp

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Chemistry
  • Complex Systems
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Earth Sciences
  • Failure Mode And Effect Analysis
  • Heat Exchangers
  • Heat Pipes
  • Heat Transfer
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Laser Altimeters
  • Separators
  • Space Flight
  • Space Stations
  • Spacecraft

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Combustion and Flow Dynamics.
  • Inertial Navigation Systems.
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers