Design optimization of thermal paths in spacecraft systems
Name
862235803-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
4.33 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
ba2dae4c57e1e9f9592203c25d4db520
Author(s)
Stout, Kevin Dale
Advisor(s)
Rebecca A. Masterson and David W. Miller.
Date Issued
2013
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This thesis introduces a thermal design approach to increase thermal control system performance and decrease reliance on system resources, e.g., mass. Thermal design optimization has lagged other subsystems because the thermal subsystem is not thought to significantly drive performance or resource consumption. However, there are factors present in many spacecraft systems that invalidate this assumption. Traditional thermal design methods include point designs where experts make key component selection and sizing decisions. Thermal design optimization literature primarily focuses on optimization of the components in isolation from other parts of the thermal control system, restricting the design space considered. The collective thermal design optimization process formulates the thermal path design process as an optimization problem where the design variables are updated for each candidate design. Parametric model(s) within the optimizer predict the performance and properties of candidate designs. The thermal path parameterization captures the component interactions with each other, the system, and the space environment, and is critical to preserving the full design space. The optimal design is a thermal path with higher performance and decreased resource consumption compared to traditional thermal design methods. The REgolith X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (REXIS) payload instrument serves as a case study to demonstrate the collective thermal design optimization process. First, a preliminary thermal control system model of a point design is used to determine the critical thermal path within REXIS: the thermal strap and radiator assembly. The collective thermal design optimization process is implemented on the thermal strap and radiator thermal path. Mass minimization is the objective and the REXIS detector operational temperature is a constraint to the optimization. This approach offers a 37% reduction in mass of the thermal strap and radiator assembly over a component-level optimization method.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2013.
This electronic version was submitted and approved by the author's academic department as part of an electronic thesis pilot project. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
"June 2013." Cataloged from department-submitted PDF version of thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-101).
Subjects
Aeronautics and Astronautics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
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