Marco Marengo
Advanced Engineering Centre, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics, Cockcroft Building, Lewes Road, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK; Department of Engineering, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi 5, 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy; Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, via Ferrata 3, 27100, Pavia, Italy
M. Abela
University of Pisa, DESTEC, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
Lucio Araneo
Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia, Via Lambruschini 4A, 20158 Milano, Italy
Vincent Ayel
Département Fluide, Thermique et Combustion, Institut Prime, CNRS-ENSMA-Université de Poitiers, UPR 33461, 86961 Futuroscope Chasseneuil Cedex, France
M. Bernagozzi
Advanced Engineering Centre, University of Brighton, Lewes Road, Moulsecoomb Campus, Brighton, UK
Yves Bertin
CNRS - Institut Prime-Université de Poitiers - ENSMA UPR 3346, Département Fluides, Thermique, Combustion, 1, avenue Clément Ader BP 40109, 86961 FUTUROSCOPE CHASSENEUIL Cedex France
Fabio Bozzoli
Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze
181/A I-43124 Parma, Italy; SITEIA.PARMA Interdepartmental Centre, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 181/A I-43124 Parma, Italy
Luca Cattani
Department of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 181/A, Parma, Italy
A. Cecere
University of Naples, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Sauro Filippeschi
University of Pisa, DESTEC, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Anastasios Georgoulas
Advanced Engineering Centre, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics, Cockcroft Building,
Lewes Road, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Vadim S. Nikolayev
SPEC, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, CEA Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
Mauro Mameli
University of Pisa, DESTEC, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 2, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Daniele Mangini
University of Bergamo, Italy; Advanced Engineering Centre, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics, Cockcroft Building, Lewes Road, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK; ESA/ESTEC Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, NL-2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Marcia Barbosa Henriques Mantelli
Heat Pipe Laboratory (LABTUCAL), Federal University of Santa Catarina, Mechanical Engineering Department, 88040-900, Trindade, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil
Nicolas Miche
Advanced Engineering Centre, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics, Cockcroft Building,
Lewes Road, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Luca Pietrasanta
Advanced Engineering Centre, School of Computing Engineering and Mathematics, Cockcroft Building,
Lewes Road, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Cyril Romestant
CNRS - Institut Prime-Université de Poitiers - ENSMA UPR 3346, Département Fluides, Thermique, Combustion, 1, avenue Clément Ader BP 40109, 86961 FUTUROSCOPE CHASSENEUIL Cedex France; Universita di Bergamo, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Viale Marconi 5,
24044 Dalmine, Bergamo, Italy
R. Savino
University of Naples, Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125 Napoli, Italy
Maksym Slobodeniuk
PPRIME – ENSMA – Université de Poitiers, 1 Av. Clement Ader, 86961 Futuroscope-Chasseneuil, France
B. Toth
ESA/ESTEC Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, NL-2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
S. Vincent-Bonnieu
ESA/ESTEC Keplerlaan 1, Postbus 299, NL-2200AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
This paper shortly summarises the experimental results obtained since 2011 by a large European academic consortium for the scientific conceptualisation, the definition of the technical requirements, the generation of experimental data, and the validation of a numerical code, for the Pulsating Heat Pipes (PHP) experiment on the International Space Station (ISS). The PHP is a passive, wickless thermal device, whereby a twophase
fluid, forming liquid plugs and vapour slugs, moves with a pulsating or circulating motion inside a meandering tube or channel. The PHP may have a very broad range of geometries (flat, tubular, 3D structured), it can dissipate heat from large areas, and it can be suitable for high power applications with low/medium heat fluxes. PHP functioning is based on the capillary effect, which provides the existence of liquid plugs completely filling the channel cross-section, in a way that any expansion or contraction of the vapour slugs will naturally generate a movement of the fluid along the channel axis. For this, it is important that the channel has a cross-section size below a given threshold, which depends on the liquid surface tension and (for a static fluid) on the gravity acceleration. In space, when only residual accelerations are acting, such a static size threshold is virtually infinite, while a finite dynamic threshold exists even in the absence of gravity. The concept of a "Space PHP" was originally developed in 2014 by the team, and from then 17 Parabolic Flight Campaigns (PFC) and 3 Sounding Rocket (SR) experiments have been carried out to
generate the data for the preparation of an experiment targeting a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission. Both a tubular and a flat plate PHP have been successfully tested in reduced gravity and on ground, by using different combinations of fluids and building materials. The need for having an experiment on a LEO
environment is mainly because, during a PFC, only 22sec of reduced gravity are possible, which is a period below the characteristic time for reaching a steady state condition for almost all of the tested devices. Instead, a steady state was reached using the SR campaigns: in this case however, only one experimental condition was achievable, and long-duration data of the PHP performance still remains beyond reach. Several measurement methodologies have been used to characterise the Space PHP, like infrared analysis, high-speed camera visualisation techniques, with data processed with different techniques, from wavelets to inverse heat transfer problem solution. The results clearly showed that PHPs are very interesting for space applications due to their simplicity of construction, the capacity to transfer heat up to several hundred watts, a high power/weight ratio, their geometrical adaptability, and, in particular, the Space PHP will be a
breakthrough technology for space thermal management.