Experimental Study and Application Prospect Analysis of Truss Heat Pipes for Space Optical Cameras

Abstract To meet the application requirements of space optical cameras, the concept of a truss heat pipe is proposed in this paper. This truss heat pipe is composed of multiple (two or more) heat pipe shells with inner capillary wicks connected to each other by special joints with additional inner capillary wicks. It can be assembled into a variety of truss structures according to the layout requirements of the structure. Truss heat pipes can be used as the supporting structure of space optical cameras and can simultaneously efficiently transfer heat and maintain an even temperature, conserving the thermal control resources of space optical cameras. The function and performance of truss heat pipes were verified through tests of a single T-joint prototype and a multi T-joint prototype. Two truss heat pipes were then applied to the thermal management of a space optical camera. The thermal vacuum test results show that as the supporting structure of the front lens barrel heat shields, the two truss heat pipes can transfer heat from the space optical camera heat source to the front lens barrel heat shield both efficiently and evenly. This indicates that truss heat pipes can meet the requirements of the structure-thermal integrated design and thermal management of space optical cameras. As a new thermal control technology and product, truss heat pipes have the potential for broad applications in many aerospace fields in the future.