Modeling of heat flux in multilayer thermal insulation with adjusted mathematical model application

Аuthors

Zinkevich V. P.^*, Nenarokomov A. V.^**

Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University), 4, Volokolamskoe shosse, Moscow, А-80, GSP-3, 125993, Russia

*e-mail: zvera95@list.ru
**e-mail: nenarokomovav@mai.ru

Abstract

The development and complication of space technology places increasingly high demands on the quality methods for thermal control systems designing and predicting of their characteristics. One of the systems whose thermal parameters within a spacecraft are difficult to predict analytically is multi-layer thermal insulation. Its compression during processing and placing on a spacecraft requires the development of an adjusted mathematical model to take into account the decrease of insulation char-acteristics at the design stage because of testing stage high cost and long development time.  The work presented and analyzed the results of modeling an experimental testing of a multilayer insulation vir-tual sample using two mathematical models: traditional and adjusted. As a first approximation the sample can be represented as a set of plane-parallel plates. The computational experiments are carried out according to a traditional scheme and taking into account a near field with a gap width of 10 and 5 µm, respectively. The obtained results demonstrate the change in the temperature distribution of the layers in the virtual sample which indicates a decrease in thermal insulation characteristics with a sig-nificant compression. The traditional model doesn’t associate with theoretical predicting increase of insulation thermal conductivity in case of layer density variation and blanket compression. The new adjusted model allows to evaluate estimated insulating characteristics decrease. Currently, a heat loss increase in areas of thermal insulation compression is considered only due to a conductive component of heat flux increase. But the adjusted model considers the increase in heat flux between the layers due to near-field heat transfer, which occurs at distances between bodies smaller than the characteris-tic wavelength as a result of the interaction of non-propagating electromagnetic waves near radiating bodies. It can make a significant contribution to the magnitude of heat flux between bodies. The simulation using the new model demonstrates a possibility to predict analytically the thermal insula-tion characteristics change and an advisability of it experimental testing under real conditions. On fur-ther model improvement it will allow to reduce dependence on empirical data during real insulation design and thermal regime analysis and reduce required amount and cost of spacecraft experimental testing.

Keywords:

multilayer insulation, heat flux, non-propagating waves, near-field heat transfer, radiative heat trans-fer

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