A Low Fin Height Heat Exchanger Technology Demonstrator for Hermes

Document Number: 932119

Date Published: July 1993

Author(s):
Alberto Pavarani - Microtecnica
Stanley Walmsley - Microtecnica
Maurizio Petruzziello - Alenia Spazio

Abstract:
The stringent mass targets of the Hermes spaceplane require the design of extremely compact plate and fin heat exchangers, hence with a very low fin height, operating at low Reynolds numbers. These parameters, low Re (10-500 range) and low fin height (0.8 mm) have so far been little investigated and never applied to heat exchanger hardware development in Europe. Moreover, almost no relevant test data is available in the public domain, and what exists has been obtained from tests with gases rather than liquids.

A program, involving the design, manufacture, and performance testing of a HX representative of the Hermes Interloop Heat Exchanger requirements, has been set up in order to explore manufacturing difficulties associated with such low height fins and to verify by test the fin thermohydraulic performance.

These tests have been carried out with water (and their results are thus directly applicable to the most common fluids employed in spacecraft active thermal control) and have explored the range of low Reynolds numbers which are also directly applicable to the design of present spacecraft heat exchangers, and for which no test data has previously been published.

This paper describes in detail the Technology Demonstrator design criteria, the test set- up and the test results obtained.

File Size: 1604K
Product Status: In Stock

See other papers presented at International Conference On Environmental Systems, July 1993, Colorado Springs, CO, USA, Session: International Conference On Environmental Systems

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