THE CYLINDRICAL ELECTROSTATIC LIQUID-FILM RADIATOR FOR HEAT REJECTIONIN-SPACE

A new space radiator concept has been proposed (Kim et al., 1991, 1992 a, b, 1993) in which a thin film of hot liquid flowing along the insid e of a closed membrane, rejects waste heat by radiation to the surroun dings. In previous versions, the radiator rotates, supplying most of t he driving force for the liquid flow. In the present design, the cylin der is stationary, and the liquid flows circumferentially under its in itial momentum. Moderately large Reynolds numbers are required to over come viscous drag, and prevent excessive thickening of the film. The m ajor design consideration involves the application of an internal elec trostatic field to pull the liquid away from the site of a membrane pu ncture due to micrometeorite impact. Calculations are presented that s how that leaks can be stopped with a safety factor of two or more, whi le the surface wave thus produced is washed harmlessly out of the syst em. Some preliminary heat transfer performance characteristics are pre sented. The advantages of this concept include the absence of moving p arts and the ease of deployment, compared to rotating units, and a fac tor of at least three for the reduction of the weight per unit surface area compared to heat pipes.