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Interrupteur thermique compact pour applications cryogéniques spatiales fonctionnant aux alentours de 100 K.

A compact thermal heat switch for cryogenic space applications operating near 100 K.

Auteurs : DIETRICH M., EULER A., THUMMES G.

Type d'article : Article

Résumé

A thermal heat switch has been developed intended for cryogenic space applications operating around 100 K. The switch was designed to separate two pulse tube cold heads that cool a common focal plane array. Two cold heads are used for redundancy reasons, while the switch is used to reduce the thermal heat loss of the stand-by cold head, thus limiting the required input power, weight and dimensions of the cooler assembly. After initial evaluation of possible switching technologies, a construction based on the difference in the linear thermal expansion coefficients (CTE) of different materials was chosen. A simple design is proposed based on thermoplastics which have one of the highest CTE known permitting a relative large gap width in the open state. Furthermore, the switch requires no power neither during normal operation nor for switching. This enhances reliability and allows for a simple mechanical design. After a single switch was successfully built, a second double-switch configuration was designed and tested. The long term performance of the chosen thermoplastic (ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) under cryogenic load is also analysed.

Détails

  • Titre original : A compact thermal heat switch for cryogenic space applications operating near 100 K.
  • Identifiant de la fiche : 30011430
  • Langues : Anglais
  • Source : Cryogenics - vol. 59
  • Date d'édition : 01/2014
  • DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryogenics.2013.11.004

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