Engineering topics

Baker, Karl W.

Publications and source records attributed to Baker, Karl W..

7 records

NASA NTRS1992

Design characteristics of a heat pipe test chamber

LeRC has designed a heat pipe test facility which will be used to provide data for validating heat pipe computer codes. A heat pipe test chamber that uses helium gas for enhancing heat transfer was investigated. The conceptual design employs the technique of guarded heating and guarded cooling to facilitate accurate measurements of heat transfer rates to the evaporator and from the condenser. The design parameters are selected for a baseline heat pipe made of stainless steel with an inner diameter of 38.10 mm and a wall thickness of 1.016 mm. The heat pipe operates at a design temperature of 1000 K with an evaporator radial heat flux of 53 W/sq. cm.

Baker, Karl W.↗

NASA NTRS1992

NASA Lewis steady-state heat pipe code users manual

The NASA Lewis heat pipe code was developed to predict the performance of heat pipes in the steady state. The code can be used as a design tool on a personal computer or with a suitable calling routine, as a subroutine for a mainframe radiator code. A variety of wick structures, including a user input option, can be used. Heat pipes with multiple evaporators, condensers, and adiabatic sections in series and with wick structures that differ among sections can be modeled. Several working fluids can be chosen, including potassium, sodium, and lithium, for which monomer-dimer equilibrium is considered. The code incorporates a vapor flow algorithm that treats compressibility and axially varying heat input. This code facilitates the determination of heat pipe operating temperatures and heat pipe limits that may be encountered at the specified heat input and environment temperature. Data are input to the computer through a user-interactive input subroutine. Output, such as liquid and vapor pressures and temperatures, is printed at equally spaced axial positions along the pipe as determined by the user.

Tower, Leonard K.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Solar thermal energy receiver

A plurality of heat pipes in a shell receive concentrated solar energy and transfer the energy to a heat activated system. To provide for even distribution of the energy despite uneven impingement of solar energy on the heat pipes, absence of solar energy at times, or failure of one or more of the heat pipes, energy storage means are disposed on the heat pipes which extend through a heat pipe thermal coupling means into the heat activated device. To enhance energy transfer to the heat activated device, the heat pipe coupling cavity means may be provided with extensions into the device. For use with a Stirling engine having passages for working gas, heat transfer members may be positioned to contact the gas and the heat pipes. The shell may be divided into sections by transverse walls. To prevent cavity working fluid from collecting in the extensions, a porous body is positioned in the cavity.

Baker, Karl W.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Effects of anisotropic conduction and heat pipe interaction on minimum mass space radiators

Equations are formulated for the two dimensional, anisotropic conduction of heat in space radiator fins. The transverse temperature field was obtained by the integral method, and the axial field by numerical integration. A shape factor, defined for the axial boundary condition, simplifies the analysis and renders the results applicable to general heat pipe/conduction fin interface designs. The thermal results are summarized in terms of the fin efficiency, a radiation/axial conductance number, and a transverse conductance surface Biot number. These relations, together with those for mass distribution between fins and heat pipes, were used in predicting the minimum radiator mass for fixed thermal properties and fin efficiency. This mass is found to decrease monotonically with increasing fin conductivity. Sensitivities of the minimum mass designs to the problem parameters are determined.

Baker, Karl W.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Graphite Fiber/Copper Matrix Composites for Space Power Heat Pipe Fin Applications

High specific thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity divided by density) is a major design criterion for minimizing system mass for space power systems. For nuclear source power systems, graphite fiber reinforced copper matrix (Gr/Cu) composites offer good potential as a radiator fin material operating at service temperatures above 500 K. Specific thermal conductivity in the longitudinal direction is better than beryllium and almost twice that of copper. The high specific thermal conductivity of Gr/Cu offers the potential of reducing radiator mass by as much as 30 percent. Gr/Cu composites also offer the designer a range of available properties for various missions and applications. The properties of Gr/Cu are highly anisotropic. Longitudinal elastic modulus is comparable to beryllium and about three times that of copper. Thermal expansion in the longitudinal direction is near zero, while it exceeds that of copper in the transverse direction.

McDanels, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1990

A heat receiver design for solar dynamic space power systems

An advanced heat pipe receiver designed for a solar dynamic space power system is described. The power system consists of a solar concentrator, solar heat receiver, Stirling heat engine, linear alternator and waste heat radiator. The solar concentrator focuses the sun's energy into a heat receiver. The engine and alternator convert a portion of this energy to electric power and the remaining heat is rejected by a waste heat radiator. Primary liquid metal heat pipes transport heat energy to the Stirling engine. Thermal energy storage allows this power system to operate during the shade portion of an orbit. Lithium fluoride/calcium fluoride eutectic is the thermal energy storage material. Thermal energy storage canisters are attached to the midsection of each heat pipe. The primary heat pipes pass through a secondary vapor cavity heat pipe near the engine and receiver interface. The secondary vapor cavity heat pipe serves three important functions. First, it smooths out hot spots in the solar cavity and provides even distribution of heat to the engine. Second, the event of a heat pipe failure, the secondary heat pipe cavity can efficiently transfer heat from other operating primary heat pipes to the engine heat exchanger of the defunct heat pipe. Third, the secondary heat pipe vapor cavity reduces temperature drops caused by heat flow into the engine. This unique design provides a high level of reliability and performance.

Baker, Karl W.↗

NASA NTRS1988

The Lewis Heat Pipe Code with Application to SP-100 GES Heat Pipes

The NASA Lewis Research Center has a thermal management program supporting SP-100 goals, which includes heat pipe radiator development. As a part of the program Lewis has elected to prepare an in-house heat pipe code tailored to the needs of its SP-100 staff to supplement codes from other sources. The latter, designed to meet the needs of the originating organizations, were deemed not entirely appropriate for use at Lewis. However, a review of their features proved most beneficial in the design of the Lewis code.

Baker, Karl W.↗