2-PHASE COOLING SYSTEM WITH A JET PUMP FOR SPACECRAFT

A two-phase cooling system with a jet pump is proposed for the thermal control of spacecraft. The system does not require an external source of energy, the pumping of the working fluid is performed by the work that is produced in a thermodynamic cycle being carried out in the hea t transport loop, The cooling system has no moving parts or control de vices, with the exception of a mechanical pump and an actuated valve, that are used only for the startup sequence. This article reports on t he results of the theoretical and experimental studies of the two-phas e thermal control system with a jet pump for spacecraft application, A mathematical model for the steady-state analysis of the proposed syst em was developed. The model was applied to predict overall performance characteristics and operating range for a specific spacecraft two-pha se cooling system. The possible reasons for the fluid loop operation f ailures were identified. The influence of the accumulator volume on th e system characteristics was also investigated, Three jet pumps of var ious configurations were tested and stable operational regimes of the cooling system were obtained under different heat-load and heat-reject ion conditions on a ground experimental facility.