Identification of radiative heat transfer parameters in multilayer thermal insulation of spacecraft
International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow
ISSN: 0961-5539
Article publication date: 6 March 2017
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to optimize multilayer vacuum thermal insulation (MLI) of modern high-weight spacecrafts. An adequate mathematical simulation of heat transfer in the MLI is impossible if there is no available information on the main insulation properties.
Design/methodology/approach
The results of experiments in thermo-vacuum facilities are used to re-estimate some radiative properties of metallic foil/metalized polymer foil and spacer on the basis of the inverse problem solution. The experiments were carried out for the sample of real MLI used for the BP-Colombo satellite (ESA). The recently developed theoretical model based on neglecting possible near-field effects in radiative heat transfer between closely spaced aluminum foils was used in theoretical predictions of heat transfer through the MLI.
Findings
A comparison of the computational results and the experimental data confirms that there are no significant near-field effects between the neighboring MLI layers. It means that there is no considerable contradiction between the far-field model of radiative transfer in MLI and the experimental estimates.
Originality/value
An identification procedure for mathematical model of the multilayer thermal insulation showed that a modified theoretical model developed recently can be used to estimate thermal properties of the insulation at conditions of space vacuum.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the financial support of the present study by the Russian Ministry of Science and Education in the frame of the Basic Part of the financial support (grant # 834).
Citation
Nenarokomov, A.V., Dombrovsky, L.A., Krainova, I.V., Alifanov, O.M. and Budnik, S.A. (2017), "Identification of radiative heat transfer parameters in multilayer thermal insulation of spacecraft", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 598-614. https://doi.org/10.1108/HFF-03-2016-0136
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited